Lens, Glaucoma, and the Fundus Practice Test

Hypertensive chorioretinopathy happens when blood pressure is high enough to overcome the eye’s small-vessel autoregulation, leading to choroidal ischemia and resulting retinal and choroidal changes such as Elschnig spots and, in severe cases, serous detachments. The most direct and common cause is primary (essential) hypertension, which represents sustained, uncontrolled high blood pressure that drives these ocular findings. While kidney disease, hyperthyroidism, and other endocrine disorders can contribute to hypertension by causing secondary high blood pressure, they are not the direct, typical triggers of hypertensive chorioretinopathy themselves.