Vision Problems
High blood pressure can cause vision problems in many ways since the eyes include countless small blood vessels. When people are exposed to the long-term impacts of high blood pressure, accompanying issues might arise. Among those is retinopathy or blood vessel damage, characterized by undersupply of blood to the retina. When this happens, the person will experience blurred vision or blindness.
Retinopathy is more likely to develop in individuals with high blood pressure or diabetes. Consequently, this condition can only be treated by controlling blood pressure.
Another vision problem associated with high blood pressure is choroidopathy or fluid buildup below the eye’s retina. This fluid accumulation beneath the retina, the tissue layer behind the eyeball sensitive to light, causes distorted vision. This condition can also result in vision impeding scarring for some individuals.
Lastly, high blood pressure can also affect the eyes through nerve damage, a.k.a optic neuropathy. It can destroy the eyes’ nerve cells due to blocked blood flow that impairs the optic nerve. As a result, the person can experience non-permanent or indefinite blindness.
