Hypertension Found to Enlarge FAZ

This image (not from the study) shows FAZ enlargement in a diabetic patient. The present study found compelling evidence of a relationship between FAZ changes and elevated systolic blood pressure. Photo: Andrew Rixon, OD. Click image to enlarge. It’s well known that diabetes, particularly when poorly managed, can cause retinopathy and vision loss. To better understand how this happens, a study conducted in Beijing examined the impact of blood pressure and blood glucose levels on the foveal avascular zone (FAZ).High systolic blood pressure (SBP), clinically diagnosed as hypertension, is a common comorbidity of diabetes. As explained by the study’s authors, because “both conditions have been shown to cause microvascular damage,” examining what effect they have on the FAZ may pave the road to vision damage prevention among patients diagnosed with diabetes and hypertension.To understand the connection between SBP and the FAZ, researchers looked at 253 adult patients diagnosed with hypertension and/or type 2 diabetes. They found that SBP may serve as a warning sign of future retinal microvasculature vulnerability, with minor but notable variations arising from patient demographics. Female patients generally had larger FAZ areas than male patients; this in itself does not point to higher SBP among women, but a larger FAZ area was also found to correlate with longstanding hypertension.Even after adjusting their analysis for factors such as patients’ sex and hemoglobin status, the authors came away with a confirmation that SBP was associated with FAZ enlargement. They did not, however, find the same connection with blood glucose levels, explaining this as potentially due to the patients’ stages of diabetes. Among study subjects, 85.3% had blood glucose levels within a normal or safe range; additionally, 90.5% did not experience diabetic retinopathy. In their analysis, the researchers explained that “FAZ enlargement typically occurs in advanced retinopathy” rather than the early or unaffected stages that the majority of their participants presented with.Patients’ FAZ area was measured via macular OCT angiography (OCT-A) scans and ophthalmic examinations. The researchers then tested and compared the data, although their final report only included patients’ right eyes. Another limitation was the involvement of primarily (73.3%) male participants, which may have affected the results given the aforementioned finding that women skewed towards a slightly greater FAZ area.The authors also argue that their findings support use of OCT-A “as a noninvasive tool for early assessment of retinal microvascular damage in hypertensive patients” and could allow for timely medical intervention to lower SBP as a strategy for protecting FAZ integrity.Click here for the journal source. Ma J, Qin M, Cao K, et al. Effects of blood pressure and blood glucose levels on foveal avascular zone area. BMC Ophthalmol. December 12, 2025. [Epub ahead of print]. This article was developed by the editorial staff in conjunction with experts in the field. In the process, AI may have been among the editorial tools used to meet the goals of human editors, who approved all content.