A Prospective Study On The Prevalence Of Retinal Lesions Among The Hypertensive Patients

Abstract

To estimate the prevalence of retinal lesions among patients with hypertension. Hypertensive patients of both the genders above 18 years of age, who were willing to participate in the study, were included and patients who were having diabetes, previous retinal abnormalities and below 18 years of age were excluded from this study. The hypertensive patients were screened for the presence of retinal lesions and were categorised based on the severity of damage to the retinal arterioles and veins.In this study, about 876 patients who were diagnosed with hypertension were recruited and screened for retinal lesions. After screening, around 125 (14.3%) patients were observed with retinal lesions. In case of severity of retinal lesions in the hypertensive patients, most of the patients were found to be in Grade-I (40.8%) followed by Grade-II (37.6%). After treating with various types of treatment approaches, about 40 patients who were observed with retinal lesions of Grade-I severity were returned to a healthy state, and about 27 patients who were with retinal lesions of Grade-II severity were recovered to Grade-I. About six patients with retinal lesions of Grade-III was improved to Grade-II, and no patient recovered with the retinal lesions of Grade-IV severity.In this study, the prevalence of retinal lesions among the hypertensive patients was observed to be 14.3%, and the males were found to be more predominant with retinal lesions when compared to the females. The elevated blood pressure for a prolonged duration in hypertensive patients impacts the severity of retinal lesions increasing the risk of retinopathy. It is the responsibility of the clinical pharmacist to create awareness among the hypertensive patients regarding the occurrence of hypertensive retinopathy as it may cause severe complications if left untreated. Hence, regular follow-ups are required for hypertensive patients, which may help to prevent retinal complications.