ABSTRACT
Purpose: The purpose was to compare the ocular perfusion pressure (OPP) and the pulsatile ocular blood flow (POBF) in normal and systemic hypertensive patients. Materials and Methods: Totally, 121 individuals (normal n = 60, systemic hypertension patients n = 61) were enrolled in this prospective age-matched comparative study. Intraocular pressure (IOP) and systemic arterial pressure were measured in seated position with 2 min interval between the measurements using Goldmann applanation tonometer (GAT) and tycos sphygmomanometer, respectively. The OPP was calculated as 2/3 of mean arterial pressure (MAP) minus IOP. After 5 min in the seated position POBF measurements were taken with the ocular blood flow (OBF) tonograph. Results: Mean age was 57.5 years (range 35-72 years) in the normal group and 59.6 years (range 36-78 years) in the hypertensive group; majority of the patients were female (68.5% and 71% respectively in each group). Measured parameters in both the groups showed, systolic blood pressure (BP) (143.6 ± 20.5 mmHg vs. 121.9 ± 17.5 mmHg), diastolic BP (90.7 ± 13.5 mmHg vs. 80.1 ± 9.9 mmHg), MAP (108.4 ± 14.2 mmHg vs. 94.2 ± 11.2 mmHg), and OPP (57.6 ± 14.6 vs. 48.7 ± 10.6 mmHg) were significantly greater (P = 0.001) in systemic hypertensive patients in comparison to normals. However, there was no difference in OBF tonograph values in both groups. The IOP measured by the OBF tonograph was higher than GAT in both groups, but the difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.41). Conclusion: Systemic hypertensive patients have a higher OPP in comparison to normal patients, but they do not have higher POBF. More studies are required to evaluate the role of the OPP in different ocular pathologies affecting the POBF.