Tag: hypertensive retinopathy

American Heart Month

Karen Griffith

“Why are you taking my blood pressure?”

February is American Heart Month,  don’t be surprised if someone takes you blood pressure when you come into Westside Optometry for your next eye examination. (Not just in February but all year long, your health matters every day of the year.)
There are often no symptoms of high blood pressure, so many people are unaware that they are at increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Measuring blood pressure is usually the first step to uncovering an individual’s risk for heart attack, stroke and damage to many important organs like the heart, brain, kidneys and EYES.

The good news is that, in most cases, you can manage your blood pressure to reduce your risk for serious health problems.

Many people with high blood pressure can lower their blood pressure into a healthy range by making lifestyle changes:

  • Getting at least 150 minutes of physical activity each week (about 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week)
  • Not smoking
  • Eating a healthy diet, including limiting sodium (salt) and alcohol
  • Keeping a healthy weight
  • Managing stress

To learn more about how high blood pressure effects the eyes – Click Here.

High Blood Pressure and the Eyes

admin

High Blood Pressure (HBP) is a serious condition that can lead to coronary heart disease, heart failure, stroke, kidney failure and vision loss. “Blood Pressure” is the force of blood pushing against the walls of the arteries as the heart pumps blood. If this pressure rises and stays high over time, it can damage the body in many ways.

About 1 in 3 adults in the United States has HBP. The condition itself usually has no signs or symptoms. You can have it for years without knowing it. During this time, the HBP can damage your heart, blood vessels, kidneys and eyes.

Blood Pressure tends to rise with age. Sometimes medication can control it. Following a healthy lifestyle helps people delay, prevent or control the BP.

Hypertension can cause damage to the blood vessels in the retina. This picture of the retina shows an eye with hypertensive retinopathy. The arrows point to arteries and veins crossing each other. In a healthy eye the vessels run parallel. The crossings are dangerous because one of the vessels can be occluded. If an artery is blocked, blood will not flow to the retina beyond the occlusion and the retina will die. This causes a permanent blind spot. If a vein is occluded there will be bleeding which may cause a chain of negative events including loss of vision, abnormal vessel growth and glaucoma.

Hypertensive retinopathy typically won’t have any symptoms. It is found during a dilated eye exam. The earlier it is detected the sooner the blood pressure can be controlled preventing vision loss, stroke and death.

The best way to prevent hypertensive retinopathy is by keeping blood pressure controlled by diet, exercise and taking medications as prescribed.