What causes silver wiring of retina?

Retinal signs of vascular pathology include an increased light reflex of the retinal arterioles (copper wiring or silver wiring, thought to occur as a result of atherosclerotic vessel wall thickening) and other arteriolar changes, including focal arteriolar narrowing, arteriovenous nicking, and microaneurysms.

What is AV nicking in hypertensive retinopathy?

Arteriovenous nicking, also known as AV nicking, is the phenomenon where, on examination of the eye, a small artery (arteriole) is seen crossing a small vein (venule), which results in the compression of the vein with bulging on either side of the crossing.

What are the two most common findings with hypertensive retinopathy?

Common hypertensive retinal changes are flame-shaped hemorrhages in the superficial layers of the retina and cotton-wool patches caused by occlusion of the precapillary arterioles with ischemic infarction of the inner retina.

What is silver wiring in the eye?

Retinal arterioles appear orange or yellow instead of red (“copper wiring” ) Retinal arterioles look white if they have become occluded (“silver wiring” )

How common is AV nicking?

Focal arteriolar narrowing was present at baseline in at least one eye of 162 survivors (6.9%) and severe AV nicking was present in 187 people (8.1%).

What is silver wiring in eye?

Retinal arterioles appear orange or yellow instead of red (“copper wiring” ) Retinal arterioles look white if they have become occluded (“silver wiring” ) Retinal arterioles indent retinal veins as they cross each other (“arteriovenous nicking” )

What is silver wiring on Fundoscopy?

Abnormal reflections of light seen on the ophthalmoscopic examination of the retina of persons with long-standing, uncontrolled hypertension.

What is silver wiring?

How do you assess AV nicking?

What to do?

  1. Using ophthalmoscope, find these vessels at their emergence from optic disc and follow them as far out as you can, looking for arteriovenous nicking, which is usually found within 5 disc diameters of optic disc.
  2. Measure blood pressure and inquire after other arteriosclerotic risk factors.

What causes copper wiring in eye?

Initially, the increased thickness of the vessel walls causes the reflex to be more diffuse and less bright. Progression of sclerosis and hyalinization causes the reflex to be more diffuse and the retinal arterioles to become red-brown. This is known as copper wiring.

What are the signs of stage 4 hypertensive retinopathy?

Symptoms of hypertensive retinopathy

  • reduced vision.
  • eye swelling.
  • bursting of a blood vessel.
  • double vision accompanied by headaches.