IDIOPATHIC POLYPOIDAL CHOROIDAL VASCULOPATHY ASSOCIATED WITH RETINAL ARTERIAL MACROANEURYSM AND HYPERTENSIVE RETINOPATHY

Abstract

Idiopathic polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (IPCV), the posterior uveal bleeding syndrome, and multiple recurrent serosanguineous pigment epithelial detachments in black women are a heterogeneous group of related entities seen in elderly hypertensive females. Similar associations are known for retinal arterial macroaneurysm (RAM). This report documents the clinical, fluorescein, and indocyanine green videoangiographic findings of two elderly black female hypertensive patients who presented with IPCV, RAM, and hypertensive retinopathy. Clinical, fluorescein, and indocyanine green videoangiographic analysis of these two patients revealed hypertensive retinopathy, RAM, and anomalous polypoidal vascular networks associated with focal “bead-string” constrictions, terminal vascular loops, and polypoidal and pinpoint choroidal nodules. Certain subgroups of IPCV and related entities and RAM may be pathophysiologically related as analogous hypertensive insults to the choroidal and retinal vascular beds.