HYDERABAD: The rise in unhealthy lifestyle and lack of physical activities is impacting not only our heart and kidneys. It is affecting our eyes as well. The number of patients with complications of hypertension relating to the eye has become a common sight in the retina clinics these days.
Who is at risk of developing Hypertensive eye disease?
Anyone who has systemic hypertension for a long time can develop changes in the eye. The risk of damage is higher when you have diabetes, high cholesterol levels or if you smoke.
High blood pressure can affect all parts of the eye from front to back and cause the following problems:
Subconjunctival haemorrhage – redness due to bleeding in the conjunctiva which can be recurrent
Cataract – hypertensive patients are at risk of developing cataract early in life than normal population
Retinal Venous occlusions - blockage of the vessels that carry blood away from retina is found more commonly in patients with high blood pressure Hypertensive retinopathy – overall changes in the blood vessels of retina of various grades depending upon the duration and level of blood pressure leading to vision lossOptic neuropathy – damage to the nerve connecting eye to brain due to poor blood supply because of high blood pressureWhat are the symptoms of Hypertensive Eye Disease?
A person typically won’t experience symptoms of hypertensive eye disease unless it is severe. It is usually discovered during a routine eye exam. However, some of the aspects that indicate hypertensive eye disease are double vision, dim vision, or vision loss – depending on the ocular (eye) structure involved.
Headaches
One of the most common complications due to hypertension is hypertensive retinopathy. Hypertensive retinopathy can lead to retinal hemorrhages (bleeding), exudation (leakages in retina) and swelling of the optic nerve with associated vision loss.
Prevention is always better than cure. Hence apart from taking regular medications as prescribed to control blood pressure, one should try to achieve lifestyle modifications.
The doctor is Senior Vitreo Retinal Surgeon at Dr. Agarwal’s Eye Hospital, Hyderabad