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Is Retinal Vessel Attenuation Associated With Visual Function In The Eyes?

Posted on Wed, 20 Sep 2017

Question: My optometrist just looked at my eyes and told me I had attentuated vessels.. I am 59 years old and very nearsighted -10.50 and - 7.60 .. My retina specialist also noted them.. But told me it was due to my nearsightedness .. But he noted it on the report as mild vascular changes.. Is the specialist just not telling me the truth.. Can you have attentuated vessels because I am so nearsighted.. I do have a higher pulse but my blood pressure seems to be most of the time in the normal range 120/80.. Is there another problem going on? iOS this normal finding on my age group.. When they have put me on bp meds my pressure goes to 100/56 at times.. What should I do? My pulse is about 85-95 ..on normal activity..doesn't the attentuated vessels take place after years of high bp?

Answered by Dr. N K Mishra (8 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Attenuated vessels.

Detailed Answer:
My dear,
Thanks for sending your query to us.

I have gone through your narrative in detail and I feel nobody is hiding anything from you. They saw a finding and made a note of it.

You need to understand the physiology behind it. Your arteries still have elasticity in their wall, so as the BP rises, arterial wall narrows due to reflex. This is not due to near sightedness. This is usually the first response to raised BP in an individual with elastic arteries.

Do not worry, just take care of your BP and maintain a healthy lifestyle and you will be fine.
Any further query in this regard, please do get back to me.
Kind regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Arnab Banerjee

Follow up: Dr. N K Mishra (3 hours later)

I am just worried doctor..I do not want it to get worse.. I know I stress out at times and my blood pressure goes up especially when I get my eyes examined because with all the flashing and past retina tears I worry about my eyes.. My blood pressure seems fine most of the time so should I take bp meds for those times when my bp spikes..? Do you see attentuated vessels in my age group? Thanks you are amazing!

Answered by Dr. N K Mishra (11 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Atenuated vessels

Detailed Answer:
My dear,
Thanks for getting back to me.
The decision to start BP medication is to be taken by your internal medicine doctor and not just by these attenuated vessels.We see such vessels in still younger patients and we do not recommend BP medication for your BP readings.
It is very natural to have anxiety while undergoing these tests,this anxiety is a sign of intelligence.
Consult your internist for BP and do not worry about attenuated vessels.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Yogesh D