Your heart and eye health are closely intertwined. Cardiovascular health issues can directly impact your vision, while certain eye conditions can also indicate underlying heart problems.
This article will explore the connection between the two, discussing the potential risks and symptoms associated with both.
How Does Your Heart Affect Your Eye Health?
Your heart affects all aspects of your body’s health, including your eyes. Cardiovascular health issues interfere with the amount of blood that reaches the eyes.
If your eyes don’t receive enough blood, this can cause vision problems. In many cases, cardiovascular health is the root cause of health problems in other parts of your body.
Your eyes can reveal several systemic disorders, such as high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, and diabetes. Because of this, it’s important to monitor your cardiovascular and vision health.
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Eye Health Risks Associated with Poor Heart Health
Poor heart health causes decreased blood flow to the eyes, and high blood pressure damages the blood vessels in the eyes. These issues can lead to vision and eye health problems such as:
- Age-related macular degeneration. A medical condition that may result in blurred or no vision in the center of the visual field.
- Glaucoma. Glaucoma causes pain or pressure in the eye that, left untreated, leads to optic nerve damage and vision loss.
- Hypertensive retinopathy. A potential complication of high blood pressure. This condition damages the retina and causes blurred vision, headaches, and loss of vision.
Vision Changes Due to Stroke
A stroke is a common cause of vision loss. In fact, a variety of vision issues are linked to stroke:
Visual Field Loss
Strokes trigger the development of brain lesions. When a lesion involves the optic nerve, it causes hemianopia or other visual field loss.
It can affect several areas in both eyes and cause vision problems. Treatment usually includes prism lenses, scanning training, and a device that makes reading easier.
Spatial Inattention
Spatial inattention happens when someone neglects the side of their body affected by a stroke. For example, some people tend to avoid chewing on their left side.
In these cases, the brain struggles to process information from the affected side. This can result in favoring one eye over the other. Rehabilitation and therapy are available to help improve this condition.
Double Vision
Double vision causes loss of depth perception. Some people wear an eye patch after a stroke, but this only reduces the amount of information the brain has to process and doesn’t fix the problem.
Visual Midline Shift
This condition causes the patient to perceive their center of balance as off to the side. Managing or resolving the issue involves balancing activities and special prism glasses (called yoked prisms) that affect spatial perception and body posture.
Oculomotor Dysfunction
Oculomotor dysfunction refers to the eyes’ inability to track or move smoothly between objects. It can lead to problems with reading and can affect walking and other movements. Even with therapy and rehabilitation, it rarely improves.
Retinal Artery Occlusion
This occurs when blood flow to the retina is blocked by a blood clot or buildup of cholesterol in an artery. Sometimes, this condition is called an “eye stroke.” Symptoms include vision floaters, pain, and pressure, and it might lead to vision loss.
Signs of Cardiovascular Disease in the Eyes
Several eye health issues indicate a problem with cardiovascular health. For example:
- Changes in the eye’s blood vessels, including decreasing or increasing in size
- Swelling at the base of the optic nerve
- Cholesterol deposits around the eyes, indicating a heart attack and stroke
- Yellowish, fatty deposits in the corners of the upper and lower eyelids due to high cholesterol
- Transient vision loss caused by sudden and brief constriction of blood vessels in the eyes
- Spots on the retina (also called cotton wool spots and exudates)
- Bleeding at the back of the eyes
- Swelling of the optic nerve and macula
If you or your eye doctor notice any of these signs during an eye exam, it’s important to seek medical attention from a heart health doctor or cardiologist.
Tips for Keeping Your Heart and Eyes Healthy
There are several things we recommend to reduce your risk of cardiovascular and related eye health problems.
Here’s a list of tips:
- Carefully monitor and manage high blood pressure
- Eat a low-sodium diet that includes a lot of fruits and vegetables
- Exercise regularly
- Quit smoking
- Maintain a healthy weight
- Limit the consumption of saturated and trans fats
- Learn how to manage stress
- Increase the amount of fiber in your diet
- Understand your genetic risk of heart disease
- Get regular eye exams
- Learn what eye health problems are linked to cardiovascular health
In addition to eating a generally healthy diet, it’s important to include foods high in omega-3 fatty acids, especially DHA.
One study published in Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science found that DHA, one of three forms of omega-3 fatty acids and the substance that makes up about 30% of brain matter, prevented age-related vision loss in lab mice.
Maintaining both heart health and eye health is crucial for overall well-being. Remember, early detection and intervention are key to preserving your vision and ensuring a healthy heart.dical attention from a heart health doctor or cardiologist.
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