Physical issues are often isolated. An ear infection won’t affect your feet, a chalazion won’t harm your heart, and an ingrown toenail won’t impact your dental health. But unfortunately, some health conditions can lead to a wide range of ramifications throughout the body. For example, your blood pressure doesn’t just impact your heart. It can also affect your brain, your kidneys, your blood vessels, and more — which might lead you to wonder, can high blood pressure affect your eyes?
The Connection Between Blood Pressure & Eye Health
High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is a common condition in which your blood pushes against your artery walls too forcefully. This causes the heart to work harder to pump blood, which increases your risk of heart attack, stroke, and a number of other health problems. Can high blood pressure affect your eyes? Yes. This may surprise you, but high blood pressure can damage the delicate blood vessels in and around your eyes, leading to various eye issues, like the following:
Hypertensive Retinopathy
The retina is the light-sensitive tissue lining the back of the eye. If you develop high blood pressure, that pressure can cause the blood vessels located in the retina to narrow, leak, or even — in rare cases — burst. This is known as hypertensive retinopathy, and symptoms include blurred vision, reduced vision, and, in severe cases, vision loss.
Optic Neuropathy
High blood pressure can lead to reduced blood flow, which can damage the optic nerve. This is called optic neuropathy, and it can lead to vision problems or, in extreme cases, permanent blindness.
Choroidopathy
Choroidopathy refers to fluid build-up under the retina. When this happens, you might experience distorted vision or scarring that affects your vision. While less common, choroidopathy can be a serious complication of high blood pressure.
Eye Stroke
High blood pressure can cause blockages in the small arteries of the eye, reducing blood flow and causing sudden vision loss. This is known as an eye stroke, or retinal artery occlusion. In this situation, immediate medication attention is crucial.
Exacerbation of Other Issues
By increasing pressure on and damaging already weakened blood vessels, hypertension can worsen other eye diseases, like diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma.
Preventing High Blood Pressure
Considering all the ways in which high blood pressure can affect ocular and overall health, you might wonder how you can prevent it. While genetics play a role, lifestyle choices significantly impact whether or not hypertension will develop into a serious issue. We encourage you to maintain the following habits to prevent or manage high blood pressure:
- Consume a heart-healthy diet, focusing on vegetables, fruits, whole grains, lean protein, and low-fat dairy. Reduce your intake of sugar, unhealthy fats, alcohol, processed foods, and foods high in sodium.
- Exercise regularly, aiming for about 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity (brisk walking, swimming, dancing, etc.) or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity (i.e., running, swimming laps, cycling, tennis, etc.) per week. Perform strength training twice per week.
- Maintain a healthy weight. If you’re overweight, losing even 5 to 10 percent of your body weight can significantly lower your blood pressure.
- Manage your stress levels. You might find it helpful to use relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, meditation, yoga, or mindfulness. When possible, reduce your exposure to chronic stressors and prioritize your sleep.
- Quit smoking if you do so already. Smoking damages your blood vessels, which raises your blood pressure. If you’re a smoker, quitting smoking can almost immediately improve your heart health.
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Can high blood pressure affect your eyes? Absolutely. Keeping your blood pressure in check is important for both your overall health and your vision, which is why regular check-ups with a general physician and annual eye exams are so essential.
Are you due for an eye exam? If you live in southwest Missouri, stop by Heffington’s. Since 1975, the Heffington family has assisted the Springfield community with top-quality eye care and affordable eyeglasses and contacts. To learn more about our products and services, please get in touch with us online, send an e-mail to asktheexperts@heffingtons.com, or give us a call at 417-869-3937 (Optiland location) or 417-882-3937 (House of Vision location).