Hypertension Related Damage to the Microcirculation in South Asian: Emergence, Predictive Power and Reversibility

Background

The role of the microcirculation is increasingly being recognized in the etiopathogenesis of cardiovascular disease. Delays in this recognition are in part due to the difficulty of studying the microcirculation non-invasively, in large numbers of individuals. Retinal vessels provide an easily accessible "window" to the microcirculation. Abnormalities of the retinal vasculature have been shown to be associated with cardiovascular risk factors and all cause mortality. Non-invasive assessment of the retinal circulation presents a valuable opportunity to study the structure and function of the microvasculature

Aims of the project

To compare geometry of retinal microvasculature of 1) hypertensive vs normotensive adults, 2) children aged 10 to 14 years of hypertensive parent (test group) versus normotensive parent (control group), and, 3) to assess the impact of blood pressure lowering on these changes over 2 years.

Primary outcome would be abnormal retinal geometry defined as the composite outcome of a) abnormal arteriolar length: diameter ratios (a measure of relative arteriolar narrowing), b) narrowed branching angles (an indicator of arteriolar rarefaction), or c) disturbed junction exponents (a marker of endothelial dysfunction.

Significance of the study

If successful, this work could be extended to address future questions, including the predictive value of these abnormalities for development of diabetes and hypertension as well as CVD; to explore further the role of microvascular disturbances in disease etiology, and to assess the impact of drug therapy on these abnormalities and their relationship to outcomes in the South Asian population