Choroidal ischemia.

Nine patients, seven women and two men, ranging in age from 21 to 86 years, had generalized vascular disease and significant deficits in choroidal perfusion but no retinal vascular changes. Because these perfusion abnormalities can be identified only by fluorescein angiography and the fundus appears to be normal, choroidal ischemia may be more common than has been realized. Infarction of the choroid, retinal pigment epithelium, and outer retina are usually unassociated with retinal detachment; even ischemia severe enough to induce retinal detachment seldom produces significant atrophy.