Does high blood pressure affect the eyes

Hypertension can affect the eyes, most notably by causing hypertensive retinopathy. Hypertension is divided into primary hypertension and secondary hypertension, with primary hypertension accounting for more than 95% of hypertensive patients and 70% of the population having fundus changes. The degree of fundus changes is highly dependent on age, the degree of elevated blood pressure, and the duration of the disease. Such fundus changes respond to hypertension by vasospasm, narrowing and thickening of the vessel wall, and in severe cases, exudation and hemorrhage can occur, which can affect vision. Secondary hypertension accounts for about 5% of all hypertension, and it causes fundus changes very similar to secondary hypertension. In addition, there is another type of hypertensive emergency called hypertension, in which the blood pressure suddenly rises significantly and is more severe, above 180/120 mmHg, accompanied by manifestations of systemic organ insufficiency. Its most significant effect on the fundus is retinal edema, hemorrhage, and exudation. In addition to hypertensive retinopathy, patients with hypertension can also develop retinal vein obstruction, ischemic optic neuropathy, oculomotor nerve palsy, obstruction of retinal arteries, and exudative retinal detachment.