Evaluation of arterial stiffness in patients with branch retinal vein occlusion

Purpose: To assess the arterial stiffness in patients with branch retinal vein occlusion ( BRVO). Methods: Brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity ( PWV) and ankle-brachial index were measured in 10 patients with BRVO ( mean age 67.9 +/- 7.5 years) and in 18 age-matched controls ( mean age 66.9 +/- 6.8 years). The controls were subjects with systemic essential hypertension having no retinal lesions. Results: The PWV in the BRVO group was 1,946 8 254 cm/s which was significantly higher than that in the control group ( 1,688 8 274 cm/s; p = 0.014, Wilcoxon rank sum test). The ankle-brachial indexes were 1.16 and 1.15 in BRVO and control groups, respectively. There was no significant difference between the groups ( p = 0.944). In the control group, there was a significant positive correlation between PWV and systolic blood pressure ( Spearman correlation coefficient r(s) = 0.385, p = 0.043), while no significant correlation was found in the BRVO group ( Spearman correlation coefficient r(s) = -0.188, p = 0.603). Conclusion: The arterial stiffness is increased in patients with BRVO which was thought to be due to the structural changes of the artery and not dependent on the blood pressure. Copyright (c) 2005 S. Karger AG, Basel.