Diabetic retinopathy with repeated amaurosis fugax caused by orthostatic hypotension.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the blood flow velocity in the ophthalmic artery using color Doppler imaging in two patients who had diabetic retinopathy with amaurosis fugax caused by orthostatic hypotension.

DESIGN

Interventional case reports.

METHODS

A 40-year-old woman (Case 1) and a 65-year-old man (Case 2) had diabetic retinopathy and amaurosis fugax caused by orthostatic hypotension. We evaluated the blood flow velocity in the ophthalmic artery using color Doppler imaging in the two patients.

SETTING

Department of Ophthalmology, Diabetes Center Tokyo Women's Medical University, Tokyo, Japan.

RESULTS

For Case 1, the maximum systolic blood flow velocity in the ophthalmic artery (V max) was 10 cm/sec in the supine position. In a seated position, visual acuity was decreased from 20/20 to light perception as V max fell to 1 cm/sec. For Case 2, the V max was 14 cm/sec in the supine position, but it was too low to measure in a seated position.

CONCLUSIONS

The decrease of V max by orthostatic hypotension may cause amaurosis fugax in patients with diabetic retinopathy.