Elevated Blood Pressure? Here's Why You Need To See An Eye Doctor
Finding out that you have high blood pressure - especially if you check your blood pressure at home or at a free blood pressure check machine - can be alarming. Without a medical professional to immediately turn to, you might worry about what your high blood pressure means for your heart, arteries, and overall health. However, one thing you might not yet be thinking about is your eyes. Here's why you should schedule an appointment for an immediate medical eye exam.
What High Blood Pressure Is
Many people have high blood pressure without really understanding what it means. When your body has to work harder to move blood around your body, it's called high blood pressure. Think of it like turning up the water on a hose. More flows out at any given time, but the hose typically becomes a little tougher to hold onto, since the pressure has increased.
When that pressure increases, it can have an impact on various parts of your body. This is where the concern begins for things like your heart and arteries. However, your eyes are part of the package, too.
Impact on Eyes
High blood pressure can increase your risk of developing a lot of eye problems. If the blood vessels in your eyes are exposed to too much pressure, they can become damaged. Damaged blood vessels can become less effective at moving blood around, which means that the amount of blood, oxygen, and nutrients your eyes receive per heart beat could be diminished. Without those necessary components of your blood, the tissues of the eye can start to starve and become damaged themselves.
Multiple conditions can be caused or influenced by this problem, but one of them can directly impact your vision. Hypertensive retinopathy can affect the way that you see the world and distort your vision simply because your blood pressure is too high.
What to Do
If your blood pressure is high, that doesn't mean that it's the end of the world or that you're doomed to lose your vision. Schedule an appointment to see an eye doctor as soon as possible.
Your eye doctor will examine your eyes and determine if damage has already been done or is in danger of occurring. If so, they may be able to prescribe medications to repair the damage or prevent further damage from happening. You should definitely still see a general physician for help in bringing down your blood pressure, but by acting now and visiting an eye doctor, you can keep your eyes healthy and safe while potentially waiting a while to see a general practitioner.
Vision protection is an integral part of any eye exam with an eye doctor. If you haven't had one recently or ever, make an appointment and see an eye doctor soon.
