The Other Hypertension

Story By :John Kofi Appiah

Tension can be defined as the opposite of compression, the force you witness after releasing a compressed string. Apply this thought to blood flowing in your body and we clinicians call it Hypertension (High Blood Pressure). There is, however, a similar phenomenon that may occur in the eye, Ocular Hypertension or Glaucoma.

Glaucoma is quite prevalent in our country, currently, over 700,000 people are living with the condition and 60,000 of them are permanently blind. The condition is described by many as a thief of sight. It is the second leading cause of blindness globally.

What is Glaucoma? It is a condition with abnormally high Intraocular Pressure that causes Optic Nerve damage and gradual loss of peripheral vision leading to blindness. Imagine too much tension in the eye that compresses the machinery responsible for transmitting your vision. The condition is associated mostly with people of African descent, old age(>60years), family history of the condition, being near-sighted, long-term use of steroids, diabetes, and High Blood Pressure.

Symptoms are determined by the type: In Open Angle Glaucoma, channels that drain fluid from the eyes are clogged causing a build-up of pressure in the eye. This is large without symptoms and patients don’t realize the loss of sight till it’s late. This is more common.

In Closed Angle Glaucoma, structures in the eyes narrow the pathway to the channels described above. Closed Angle can be chronic (with no symptoms as above) or acute with symptoms like painful red eye, sudden vision loss, halos around light, headache, nausea, and vomiting.

The disease commonly progresses as peripheral loss of vision, commonly known as ‘Tunnel Vision’ as shown above.

Unfortunately, blindness associated with Glaucoma is irreversible, and as such screening is the only means to catch it early. Screening is done by measuring the pressure in your eyes, known medically as Tonometry. I will urge you to visit your Ophthalmologist for regular eye screening after the age of 40.

Glaucoma is incurable however there are a host of medications and surgeries that slow disease progression and prevent vision loss especially if the disease is caught early. As such, do not let Glaucoma darken darken your life, be aware, be informed, and get screened!