Effects of high blood pressure on visual health
17/05/2024
Hypertensive retinopathy is defined as a set of changes that appear in the back of the eye as a result of high blood pressure.
Up to 40% of the population suffers from high blood pressire according to data provided by the Spanish Society of Hypertension. This indicates that a large part of those affected are unaware of it. An in-depth retina examination can point out if a patient is suffering from this condition.
High blood pressure goes unnoticed for quite some time, causing changes to the patient's vascular tree without them being aware of the chronic damage they are suffering. Furthermore, if other risk factors coexist like diabetes mellitus, obesity or tabacco use, then there is an increased risk of suffering thrombotic changes in the retina.
The retina is the only part of our body where you can see the blood vessels (boths veins and arteries) directly and, in many cases, they are a reflection of the vasculature of the rest of our body. For this reason, it's important for patients with high blood pressure to have regular check-ups of the back of the eye.
According to their stage, they can be divided into:
The majority of patients remain asymptomatic for a long period of time, even when they present the clinical signs described above.
The main complication of hypertensive retinopathy is thromboembolic occlusion of the blood vessels. There are three types:
If there is any pathology where it is necessary to be very strict in terms of prevention, then it's high blood pressure. The values need to be checked regularly and even more insistently among those who are already suffering from it. Regardless of the medication prescribed, different tips for a healthy lifestyle should be followed, for example, smokers should give up smoking, you should do exercise frequently and eat healthy food that is low in salt.
Furthermore, you are advised to visit the ophthalmologist annually where you can have your pupils dilated and the state of your retina can be assessed, in order to rule out any of the clinical signs describd above.