Assessment of the conjunctival microcirculation in adult patients with cyanotic congenital heart disease compared to healthy controls

•The conjunctival microcirculation is a readily-accessible and analysable vascular network•The effects of chronic hypoxia on conjunctival microcirculatory parameters have not previously been reported•Conjunctival axial velocity and wall shear rate were lower in cyanotic congenital heart disease patients compared to matched healthy controls•The findings in this study are most likely due to chronic hypoxia and could be applied to the study of other patient cohorts with chronic hypoxia