Photo Credit: Ake Ngiamsanguan

The following is a summary of “Relationship Between Blood Pressure and Rates of Glaucomatous Visual Field Progression: The Vascular Imaging in Glaucoma Study,” published in the August 2024 issue of Ophthalmology by Donkor et al.

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to determine whether systemic arterial blood pressure (BP) influenced the progression of visual field loss as measured by standard automated perimetry (SAP) in patients with glaucoma or suspected glaucoma.

They followed 124 eyes (91 with glaucoma, 33 suspects) from 64 subjects (mean age 68.4±7.6 years) at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, Palm Beach Gardens, FL. Participants underwent eye exams, BP measurements, and SAP every 4 months. Baseline visits included 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM). Linear mixed models, adjusted for variables like age, gender, race, intraocular pressure, baseline severity, and central corneal thickness, were used to assess how BP influenced the rates of SAP mean deviation (MD) change over time.

The results showed that eyes underwent an average of 8.9±1.5 SAP exams over a follow-up period of 28.3±6.0 months. The median MD change rate was 0.14 dB/year (range -1.21 to 0.96 dB/year), with 9 eyes (7%) exhibiting moderate to fast progression (MD change ≤ -0.50 dB/year). A 10 mmHg decrease in 24-hour average MAP and SBP was linked to a quicker MD loss of -0.171 dB/year (P=0.045) and -0.137 dB/year (P=0.023), respectively. Lower mean SBP during follow-up was significantly associated with MD progression (P=0.003).

Investigators concluded that lower baseline and ongoing BP levels were significantly linked to faster glaucoma progression, suggesting the potential as predictors of glaucoma worsening.

Source: aaojournal.org/article/S0161-6420(24)00451-2/abstract#%20