World Health Day is celebrated annually on April 7 to mark the anniversary of the founding of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 1948. Each year a theme is selected for World Health Day that highlights a priority area of public health concern in the world.
The theme for 2013 is High Blood Pressure.
As the Caribbean Council for the Blind/ Eye Care Caribbean seeks to fulfill its mandate of “preventing blindness and visual impairment”, we have turned our focus to Hypertensive Retinopathy.
In this edition of our World Health Day Bulletin we are presenting articles on Hypertensive Retinopathy prepared by two noted Consultant Ophthalmologists in the region – Dr. Gavin Henry from Jamaica and Dr. Hazel Shillingford Ricketts from The Commonwealth of Dominica.
Hypertensive Retinopathy – Dr Shillingford-Ricketts
Hypertensive Retinopathy refers to the effect of hypertension on the retina.
Hypertension damages the walls of the Retinal Arterioles resulting in thickening of the walls and narrowing of the lumen. These thickened arterioles then compress the retinal veins where they cross over them resulting in arteriovenous or AV nipping. These signs are related to Chronic Systemic Hypertension.
Retinal Arteriosclerosis is useful as an indicator of target organ damage which may help in deciding whether to initiate antihypertensive treatment in patients with mild or white coat Hypertension.
Read More: http://www.eyecarecaribbean.com/site/ecc/world-health-day/hypertensive-retinopathy-dr-shillingford-ricketts
Hypertensive Retinopathy – Dr Gavin Henry
Hypertensive Retinopathy is a condition that describes damage to the retina caused by high blood pressure.
The retina is the layer of tissue that lines the back of the eye and is responsible for the conversion of images that enter the eye into signals that are sent along the nerves back to the brain.
The changes in Hypertensive Retinopathy result from adaptive changes in the large and small vessel circulation in response to the high blood pressure resulting in damage.
Read More: http://www.eyecarecaribbean.com/site/ecc/world-health-day/hypertensive-retinopathy-dr-gavin-henry
World Health Day 2013
This World Health Day, April 7, 2013, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and partners focus on the global problem of high blood pressure.
Though it affects more than one in three adults worldwide, it remains largely hidden.
Many people do not know they have high blood pressure because it does not always cause symptoms. As a result, it leads to more than nine million deaths every year, including about half of all deaths due to heart disease and stroke.
Read More: http://www.eyecarecaribbean.com/site/ecc/world-health-day/world-health-day-2013