Why do I have retinopathy if I don’t have diabetes or high blood pressure?
MAY 27, 2016
Question:
I am scheduled for laser surgery because I have retinopathy with aneurysm (a ballooned-out section of a blood vessel or artery) in my left eye. I do not have diabetes or high blood pressure so I'm confused as to what could have caused this. I do have high cholesterol and am on medication for it—could this be the reason?
Answer:
The majority of patients who have retinopathy with either microaneurysms or a macroaneurysm requiring laser treatment will have either diabetes or high blood pressure. However, there are a number of other retinal conditions that will develop these changes and, in rare cases, we can see retinopathy where we are unable to determine the cause.