Hypertension and Its Impact on Your Eyesight

Hypertension is a vascular disease marked by high blood pressure levels. If uncontrolled, it can cause various organ complications, such as hypertensive retinopathy. Today, Vienna Eyecare Center, your leading provider of quality eyeglasses and other eyecare products and services, explains everything you need to know about this condition.

How It Occurs

The retina is the tissue at the back of your eyes that holds light-sensitive photoreceptors. Its main role is to convert received light rays into nerve impulses, which the optic nerve delivers to your brain for image translation. When you have hypertension, however, the increased pressure within your blood vessel walls causes them to thicken over time.

With hypertension, your heightened blood pressure causes your blood vessels to thicken. As a result, blood flow to your eyes may be restricted. Consequently, your eyes won’t receive enough oxygen and nutrients, which can impair their functionality. Eventually, this can lead to irreversible vision loss.

How It Affects Your Eyesight

You may not experience any visual changes at first. As the condition advances, however, you may begin to have blurry or distorted eyesight. Double vision, headaches and dizziness are also common, as is difficulty seeing in dimly lit places. If you experience any of these symptoms, visit your eyecare specialist for a comprehensive eye exam as soon as possible.

How It’s Managed

When it comes to managing hypertensive retinopathy, our main goal is to regulate your blood pressure levels. It’s important to take your anti-hypertensive medications as instructed by your doctor. Making your doctor’s recommended diet and lifestyle changes is a great help as well.
Early detection is another key to halting hypertensive retinopathy’s progression. This is why if you or any of your family members have high blood pressure, you should make it a habit to have comprehensive eye exams. The sooner we identify hypertensive retinopathy, the more likely it is that we’ll be able to preserve your vision.

For reliable optometry services from trusted eye doctors, turn to Vienna Eyecare Center. Apart from treating hypertensive retinopathy, we also offer quality contact lenses, LASIK evaluation and more. Get in touch with us today at (703) 938-7633 or complete our form to schedule an appointment. We serve various VA areas, including Fairfax, Reston and Tysons Corner.