Microcirculation disorders in conjunctival and retinal vessels in patients with cardiovascular diseases and chronic kidney disease, as well as their prognostic significance

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) are associated with microcirculation disorders that can be diagnosed by examination of eye vessels. The review deals with capabilities of ophthalmological methods (i.e., laser Doppler flowmetry [LDF] and optical coherence tomography angiography [OCTA]) to detect microvascular abnormalities associated with ischemic heart disease (including myocardial ischemia/angina with non-obstructive coronary artery disease [INOCA/ANOCA] and myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronary artery disease [MINOCA]), arterial hypertension and CKD). These techniques provide evaluation of vascular density, blood flow velocity, and other parameters at a preclinical stage. Patients with CVD and CKD show typical ophthalmological signs correlating with systemic vascular pathology. The analysis demonstrates that eye microcirculation monitoring can be an important addition to conventional methods of diagnosis and monitoring of a cardiovascular risk. Integration of ophthalmological approaches into cardiological and nephrological practice opens up fresh opportunities for personalized medicine. Further studies should be conducted to standardize these methods and to confirm their clinical relevance. KEYWORDS: conjunctiva, retina, microcirculation, endothelial dysfunction, ischemic heart disease, chronic kidney disease. FOR CITATION: Enkhtaivan B., Yusupova A.O., Slepova O.A., Pakhtusov N.N., Belenkov Yu.N., Siplivyi V.I., Safonova T.N., Kintyukhina N.P., Sandulyak V.I. Microcirculation disorders in conjunctival and retinal vessels in patients with cardiovascular diseases and chronic kidney disease, as well as their prognostic significance. Russian Journal of Clinical Ophthalmology. 2025;25(3):195–202 (in Russ.). DOI: 10.32364/2311-7729-2025-25-3-6