14 DAY TRIAL // Glaucoma is a fairly common condition in this day and age. In fact, experts say that this condition, which occurs when excess pressure in the eye keeps blood from entering it, is the second leading cause of blindness on a global scale.
For quite a while, it was believed that people experiencing long-term high blood pressure were less likely to get glaucoma, EurekAlert informs. Truth be told, this assumption kind of made sense.
Thus, it was said that, the more pressure the blood reaching the eye had, the better its chances to counteract the high eye pressure and reach its destination. Still, it seems things don't work quite like this.
In a new study in the journal Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, specialists with the University of Melbourne in Australia argue that high blood pressure actually ups the risk for glaucoma.
The researchers say that, having carried out a series of experiments, they found that this is because long-term high blood pressure causes damage to the blood vessels present in the eye.
This means that, even if chronic hypertension can counter the effects of having too much pressure build up inside the eye, the fact of the matter is that, at the end of the day, it does more harm than good.
“It seems that hypertension might damage the blood vessels in the eye so that they can't compensate for changes in blood flow when eye pressure increases,” said study author Bang Bui.
The specialists expect that their finding will help change the way glaucoma is viewed and treated. Specifically, they hope that, soon enough, high blood pressure will officially be listed as a risk factor for glaucoma.