Acute hypertensive retinopathy should be distinguished from retinal arteriolosclerosis. The presence of microvascular abnormalities in the ocular fundus increases the risk of heart and/or brain attack. At the clinical level, the current classification of chronic hypertensive retinopathy is based on the long-term risk of stroke. In research, a great number of studies are focused on the predictive value of retinal vascular diameters related to the general micro- and macrovascular disease.