High blood pressure means a person’s heart must work that much harder in order to pump blood around the body. If the condition is left untreated, life-threatening conditions may ensue including a heart attack or stroke. Apart from damage to the kidney and heart, damage to the eyes is also a reality including this dangerous condition. What is it?

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The exact cause of why some people may have higher blood pressure than others is unknown.

There are numerous factors that play a role in developing high blood pressure and these include being a smoker, being overweight or obese, lack of physical activity, too much salt in the diet, drinking too much alcohol, not dealing with stress well, older age and genetics.

Regardless of what caused the blood pressure to creep up, knowing exactly what your number is and taking the appropriate measures to lower that reading if too high, is imperative.

High blood pressure is primarily caused by poor dietary decisions, so making a conscious effort to reduce their intake of certain foods, while upping your intake of others is vital to staving off high blood pressure.

If the condition is left untreated, dangerous health complications could ensue.

This is why high blood pressure is often referred to as the “silent killer”.

Serious health conditions such as heart attack or stroke are possible with high blood pressure.

Dangerous consequences in a person’s eyes may also develop.

High blood pressure can affect one’s eyesight and potentially lead to eye disease.

Hypertension can cause damage to the blood vessels in the retina, the area at the back of the eye where images focus.

This eye disease is known as hypersensitive retinopathy.

The damage could potentially be very serious.

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What is hypersensitive retinopathy?

Vision Eye Institute said: “Hypersensitive retinopathy is the name given to damage to the retina, as a result of high blood pressure.

“The retina is the layer of tissue at the back of the eye that works like the film in a camera.

“It plays such an important part in a person’s vision that any damage to it is considered serious.

“If you have high blood pressure, this can lead to the narrowing of the tiny, delicate vessels that supply blood to the retina.

“This damage can lead to the loss of clarity in your vision.”

Symptoms of hypersensitive retinopathy

A person typically does not experience symptoms of mild to moderate hypersensitive retinopathy.

It is usually discovered during a routine eye exam.

Symptoms of more severe and accelerated hypertension might include headaches and vision problems.

Severe retinopathy can occur alongside high blood pressure during pregnancy, so prenatal care is important.

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