Abstract:

Stroke is a common disease that cause of serious health damage. Early prevention is of great significance. Hypertensive retinopathy (HRP) can assess the risk of stroke to some extent (OR value 1.02~2.37) because it is parallel with other target organ damage caused by hypertension. The anatomical and physiological basis for assessing the risk of stroke using hypertensive retinopathy includes: the cerebral arterioles are similar in diameter to the retinal arteries, the inner retina and brain microcirculation have similar barrier functions, and the endothelial cell structures of the brain and retinal capillaries are similar. Methods for assessing stroke risk using hypertensive retinopathy include the use of software for retinal vessel diameter measurements and retinal vessel bifurcation angle measurements on the fundus photographs. (Int Rev Ophthalmol, 2018, 42:  312-317)