Optic nerve blood flow in glaucoma: effect of ytemic hypertenion Original Reearch Article

PURPOE: To invetigate optic nerve head blood flow in patient with glaucoma and to ae the effect of ytemic hypertenion. METHOD: Thi tudy included 24 eye of 24 patient with primary open-angle glaucoma. Eleven of thee patient had a hitory of ytemic hypertenion. Reult in patient with glaucoma were compared with thoe of 13 eye of 13 age-matched normal control. Determination of relative optic nerve head blood velocity, volume, and flow were obtained with laer Doppler flowmetry in the uperotemporal and inferotemporal neuroretinal rim and alo in the cup. Mean of the velocity, volume, and flow of thee three meaurement ite were calculated for each ubject. REULT: Mean overall optic nerve head blood flow wa 29% lower in glaucoma patient than in normal control (t tet, P < .001). Thi decreae in flow wa mainly caued by a decreae of 23% in mean blood velocity (P < .001). Mean flow in glaucoma patient without ytemic hypertenion wa 26% lower than that of glaucoma patient with hypertenion (Tukey honet ignificant difference tet, P = .05). A ignificant direct correlation wa oberved between mean flow and mean blood preure (R = 0.51, P < .02). CONCLUION: Optic nerve blood flow i reduced in glaucoma patient. Glaucoma patient without ytemic hypertenion have lower optic nerve blood flow than thoe with hypertenion. Our reult raie concern that treatment of ytemic hypertenion may further decreae optic nerve blood flow in glaucoma patient.