How does high blood pressure affect the eyes?

The article was professionally consulted by an eye doctor - Department of Examination & Internal Medicine - Vinmec Hai Phong International General Hospital

Hypertension is a common chronic disease. The prevalence of high blood pressure increases with age. Prolonged high blood pressure will lead to many consequences for the body's organs such as the brain, kidneys, heart, arteries and eyes.

Blood pressure is the force the blood exerts on the walls of the arteries. Blood pressure is divided into two numbers: systolic pressure and diastolic pressure. Normal blood pressure in systolic is <130 mmHg, diastolic is <85 mmHg.
Hypertension is defined as a constant increase in blood pressure ≥ 140/90 mmHg. The prolonged increase will lead to many other health risks such as: stroke, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, eye disease... In most cases, high blood pressure has no warning signs. .
It is extremely important to find yourself or a family member with high blood pressure early. Therefore, regular blood pressure monitoring will be of great help in noticing a change.

Effects on the brain: High blood pressure is a particularly important risk factor for stroke. Uncontrolled high blood pressure causes a branch of a blood vessel to burst, leading to bleeding in the brain.

Effects on the kidneys: The kidneys are likened to a filter of the body, helping to eliminate unnecessary substances. When blood pressure is too high, it can thicken the walls of the blood vessels, leading to narrowing of the space inside the blood vessels. From there, waste products accumulate in the blood, which over time can damage the kidneys. Effects on the eyes: Prolonged high blood pressure will cause rupture of blood vessels, mainly blood vessels in the retina, causing retinal-vitreous haemorrhage, leading to blurred vision or even permanent blindness. Effects on the heart: This is an important risk factor for myocardial infarction and congestive heart failure. Effects on the arterial system: High blood pressure makes the arteries stiffer (arteriosclerosis), which makes the heart and kidneys work harder.

Hypertension affects the eye through narrowing of the arteries in one area or all of the retina, which makes the arteries stiffer, straighter, bifurcates perpendicularly, and produces a sparse picture of the retinal vasculature. desert. Arteriosclerosis may be an early manifestation of hypertensive retinopathy. Signs of arteriovenous cross-section: Normal arterial-venous crossing does not lead to changes in the diameter and color of blood vessels, but when the hardening process takes place, the artery will "crush" veins, impeding circulation. Retinal hemorrhage: superficial, candle-shaped hemorrhage along the nerve fibers around the great vessel near the optic disc, which may appear as deeper, dotted or circular hemorrhages throughout the retina. Cotton exudate (soft discharge): White patches, indistinct margins, are shallow and cover the blood vessels.

Hard exudates: Yellow, deep, well-demarcated patches, often posteriorly. Sometimes arranged in spokes, spreading around the macula, forming macular stars, or gathering together to form large infiltrates. Optic disc edema: Blurred optic disc margin, unclear boundary, slightly raised, white, varicose veins, congested with dilated capillaries. In some cases, there is also bleeding before the optic disc. Occlusion of the central retinal artery: Sudden blurred vision, even complete blindness in one eye, but without pain or redness in the eye. The golden time to resuscitate vision is within the first 2 hours, the degree of recovery gradually decreases in the following 6 hours. Occlusion of the central retinal vein : Retinal edema, visual acuity diminishes in a few days. At this time, because the blood circulation in the blocked area is stagnant, the substances in the blood vessels escape from the vessel wall and enter the retina, causing edema and loss of vision. The patient looks like there is a layer of fog in front of the eyes or there are dark spots in the center. Depending on the degree of hypertension, the related eye diseases will decrease more or less. Vitreous hemorrhage: Blood spills into the vitreous, when the blood vessel cracks, it will block the transmission of light, causing the patient to see red smoke, red moving membrane. This condition can go away after a few days or can get worse, making the lens cloudy and very difficult to treat. Injury to optic nerve cells: The amount of blood and fluid escaping from the lumen will damage the optic nerve cells because they are not nourished, causing the patient to gradually lose vision quickly and difficult to recover.

Currently, there is no specific drug to treat eye diseases caused by the effects of hypertension. Therefore, the treatment method is focused on treating hypertension. The main purpose is to prevent and limit damage to the eyes and internal organs. Treatment can begin with medication and lifestyle changes. It is possible to add drugs that increase circulation, vasodilators or stabilize blood vessels.
In some cases, laser treatment can help treat complications from retinal vein occlusion. When macular edema can be injected into the vitreous cavity (intraocular injection) to reduce edema.
In case of sudden loss of vision in one eye, you need to immediately rest until the central retinal artery occlusion, then you must take the patient to an experienced ophthalmologist for treatment as a disease. emergency care (best within the first 2 hours).

To prevent, hypertensive patients need to treat and control blood pressure at a stable level, screen for risk factors, have regular eye exams, avoid eye damage...
For people who don't If you have blurred vision due to high blood pressure, you need to follow your doctor's instructions for successful treatment. Besides, it is necessary to build a suitable lifestyle to better stabilize blood pressure:
Eat light meals, avoid frozen and processed foods. Limit or abstain from alcohol.

No smoking. Eat lots of fresh vegetables and fruits such as: cruciferous vegetables, spinach, oranges, lemons, tangerines, grapefruits... Use eye tonic products scientifically as indicated. Exercise regularly. Sleep early, avoid staying up late. Wear eye protection. Limit sitting in front of computers, phones, televisions for many hours continuously... Injuries to the eyes caused by high blood pressure often progress through many stages, and can even lead to blindness if left undiagnosed and undiagnosed. early treatment. Good blood pressure control is the only treatment to limit eye diseases in people with high blood pressure.
If you are experiencing vision problems, go to a medical facility immediately to be examined and treated by doctors as soon as possible. Currently, Vinmec International General Hospital has vision-related service packages such as:
Refractive error screening package Cataract surgery consultation and examination package Ortho-K package.