Papillary Edema As a Predictive Sign of Major General Complications of Arterial Hypertension

Introduction: High blood pressure is one of the leading causes of premature death due to its cardiac, renal and neurological disorders. Objective: To evaluate the relationship between hypertensive retinopathy and the prevalence of potential life-threatening complications. Materials and Methods: Cohort study comparing two groups (G1 and G2) of 13 patients each, performed over a period of 5 years at the University Hospital of Brazzaville. Patients with essential hypertension complicated by stage II and III retinopathy of the Kirkendall’s classification were included. Each patient was seen 3 times over a period of 9 months. G1 were in stage III and G2 in stage II. The factors compared were: prevalence of heart failure, renal failure and stroke, as well as the mortality rate. The relative risk, the Student’s test with a threshold of significance less than 0.05 were the statistical tests used. Results: Prevalence of heart failure, renal failure and stroke were respectively: 53.85% G1 vs 15.38% G2 (p <0.05), 38.46% G1 vs 7.69%, G2 (p <0.05) and 30.77% G1 vs 0.00% G2 (p <0.05). These complications were associated in 61.54% G1 vs 23.07% G2. The mortality rate was: 84.61% G1 vs 7.69% G2 (p <0.05). Conclusion: Stage III hypertensive retinopathy is associated with a high prevalence of severe general complications of high blood pressure.