Choroidal blood flow during exercise-induced changes in the ocular perfusion pressure.
OBJECTIVE
The high metabolic rate of the human retina is supported by the choroidal vasculature. Knowledge of the normal choroidal blood flow (ChBF) responses to various physiological stimuli is therefore highly important if the pathophysiology of ocular diseases involving the choroid is to be understood better. In the present study, the hemodynamic responses of the subfoveal ChBF were examined during and after an exercise-induced increase in the ocular perfusion pressure (OPP).


METHODS
Twenty-six healthy volunteers, 19 to 55 years of age participated in this two-phase study. Each subject increased resting OPP through stationary biking at a heart rate (HR) of 140 beats per minute (bpm) over 20 minutes. The ChBF was measured by laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF), the systemic BP by electronic sphygmomanometry, and the resting intraocular pressure (IOP) by applanation tonometry.


RESULTS
The OPP increased by approximately 43% at the onset of biking, and then decreased biphasically to approximately 12% above resting value by the end of biking. The ChBF remained within 10% of its basal value throughout biking. Immediately after biking, the OPP decreased twice as much as the ChBF in the same time frame.


CONCLUSIONS
The dissociation between the OPP and the ChBF during biking and recovery suggests that some mechanism keeps the ChBF close to its basal value, an observation that indicates blood flow regulation.
Lovasik
John V
JV
School of Optometry, University of Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada. john.vincent.lovasik@umontreal.ca
Kergoat
Hélène
H
Riva
Charles E
CE
Petrig
Benno L
BL
Geiser
Martial
M
D000328:Adult; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity / Q000502:physiology; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D015924:Blood Pressure Monitors; D002829:Choroid / Q000098:blood supply*; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D007429:Intraocular Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D017078:Laser-Doppler Flowmetry; D008875:Middle Aged; D010477:Perfusion; D012039:Regional Blood Flow / Q000502:physiology; D014065:Tonometry, Ocular