Effects of Change in Blood Pressure on Retinal Capillary Rarefaction in Patients With Arterial Hypertension

Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography (OCT-A) is an ocular imaging technique which allows fast and non-invasive assessment of the retinal microvasculature. With the OCT-A, a reduction in capillary density in patients with arterial hypertension has been found. In animal experiments, this so called retinal capillary rarefaction could be reversed after administration of antihypertensive medication. The main aim of the present study is to evaluate whether in patients with initially poorly-controlled hypertension, an increase in capillary density can be demonstrated, if patients achieve well-controlled blood pressure with antihypertensive medication. In addition changes in retinal oxygen metabolism and choroidal blood flow will be investigated.