Ophthalmoscopic changes associated with hypertensive vascular disease as a guide to sympathectomy

DURING recent years many articles have been published concerning the importance of fundic changes associated with benign and malignant essential hypertension (benign and rapidly progressive hypertensive vascular disease). 1 These fundic findings will be discussed in relation to the surgical treatment of this prevalent disease. Others will discuss the surgical and medical aspects. Essential Hypertension is regarded as a vascular disease of unknown etiology. Its main clinical manifestation is a persistent high diastolic blood pressure, with variable general symptoms. The disease often causes spasm or sclerotic thickening of the walls of the retinal choroidal arterioles. This results in narrowing or stenosis of the lumen, which frequently leads to pathologic changes in the surrounding area. Essential hypertension may be divided into two forms : benign and malignant. The benign form is a chronic disease ; the malignant form is an acute disease. Both forms occur mainly in adults. Occasionally the benign form may