WEDNESDAY, Oct. 30, 2019 (American Heart Association News) -- Rising blood pressure and stiffening arteries – two risk markers for cardiovascular disease – create easily detectable changes in the tiny blood vessels at the back of the eye, according to new research.

It's the largest study to examine the relationship between microvascular changes in the eye and the macrovascular risk factors that lead to heart disease. Published Wednesday in the American Heart Association's Hypertension, the study raises the question of whether measuring changes to the vessels in the eye could serve as a tool for predicting greater risk of heart disease and cardiovascular events.