Spectrum of Hypertensive Retinopathy in Patients of Acute St Elevated Myocardial Infarction in Tertiary Care Hospital

Abstract

Objective: To ascertain the prevalence of hypertensive retinopathy in patients with acute ST elevated myocardial infarction.

Methodology: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from May to November, 2019, at the Lady Reading Hospital's Cardiology Department in Peshawar. Patients of all genders, ages 40 to 70, were included. Two skilled ophthalmologists used a RIESTER ophthalmoscope to perform a fundoscopy. After a fundoscopy, consensus was agreed upon, and patients' risk of hypertensive retinopathy was evaluated. Hypertensive retinopathy was stratified by age, gender, smoking status, diabetes, and BMI to assess potential effect modification. Stratified chi-square tests were utilized, with a significance level of P < 0.05. SPSS version 20 was used to enter and analyze all of the data.

Results: The mean age of participants in this study was 58 years, with a standard deviation of 12.73. Male patients constituted 65% of the sample, whereas females accounted for 35%. Twenty-seven percent of the patients had hypertensive retinopathy, while seventy-three percent did not. Furthermore, hypertensive retinopathy showed no statistically significant associations with age, gender, smoking, diabetes mellitus, or BMI; the p-values were greater than 0.05, indicating insignificance.

Conclusion: The study findings conclude that 27% of patients with acute ST-elevated myocardial infarction had hypertensive retinopathy.