RARITY OF HYPERTENSIVE RETINOPATHY IN AFRICAN

Fifty patients with severe hypertension were selected for study over a two-year-period. Of these, fifteen had detectable retinal vascular changes which, however, were minimal in nine. Papilloedema occurred in only one patient. No particular age group appeared unduly susceptible to retinal vascular damage. In none of five pregnant patients with moderately severe hypertension was there evidence of retinopathy. In two patients retinal changes diminished considerably following hypotensive therapy, and have remained so for two years. A total of seven patients died, five from renal failure. Data from other areas of Africa and from Europe are presented and attention is drawn to the comparative rarity of severe hypertensive retinopathy in the indigenous African. © 1968.