management and prognosis
Last reviewed 01/2018
Successful hypotensive therapy will quickly resolve any haemorrhages and within a few weeks, any cotton wool spots. Hard exudates may take many months to clear. Papilloedema may resolve but potential optic atrophy is a serious sequelae.
The 5 year survival of patients with compensated hypertensive retinopathy is about 70%; that for accelerated hypertensive retinopathy, about 1%.