Eye doctors sometimes observe blue or yellow rings around the cornea (known as “arcus senilis in older individuals and “arcus juvenilis in those under 40”). This could indicate high cholesterol levels.

Over time, high blood pressure and cholesterol can damage the tiny blood vessels of your retina in the back of your eye. Over time, these vessels may swell and block off completely; alternatively, new blood vessels may form that leak and bleed.

High blood pressure

Hypertension damages the delicate blood vessels of the eye and leads to serious conditions that threaten vision loss, including hypertensive retinopathy and central serous choroidopathy. High blood pressure occurs when its top number — called systolic pressure — exceeds 120 and diastolic pressure exceeds 80; over time this causes damage to arterial walls, weakening their structure so blood cannot flow as freely through them and eventually leading to buildups of fats and calcium called plaque that builds up within them and can rupture with serious consequences and life-threatening consequences for its hosts.

Hypertension can wreak havoc on blood vessels in the retina, the thin layer of tissue at the back of your eye that senses light and converts it to nerve impulses for your brain to interpret as images. When blood vessels in the retina become damaged they swell reducing supply to both retina and optic nerve; when blood vessels in the retina bleed they leak fluid into your eye causing blurred or lost vision.

Beaver Dam Eye Study’s large study on hypertensive patients demonstrated that those with uncontrolled high blood pressure were more likely to experience symptoms associated with hypertensive retinopathy such as hemorrhages in retinal blood vessels, microaneurysms and retinal vein occlusions than those whose pressures were well managed. Symptoms associated with hypertensive retinopathy can include hemorrhaging retinal blood vessels as well as microaneurysms or retinal vein occlusions.

Untreated high blood pressure can also result in eye diseases that impair vision as well as organs like heart disease, stroke and kidney damage. If you have hypertension, regular health care and lifestyle adjustments may help lower it; such as weight loss, stress reduction techniques, diet improvements and getting enough restful sleep and physical activity. Also remember to follow any advice from your healthcare provider in managing it effectively! It’s also vital that you stop smoking as part of managing blood pressure more successfully.

High blood pressure in the eyes may manifest itself with headaches, vision changes and swelling of the optic disk. Other symptoms may include blurry or lost vision, distorted straight lines and faded colors. Treatment for hypertension involves controlling it with diet, lifestyle and medication as well as having annual eye exams in order to detect any changes that could indicate complications.

High cholesterol

Cholesterol may have a poor reputation when it comes to heart health, but it can also have detrimental effects on eyesight. According to independent optician Care Optics, high cholesterol may cause yellow fatty deposits to form around your eyes known as xanthelasma – this condition could indicate thyroid issues like Graves’ disease, with symptoms like protruding eyelids and blurred vision as a telltale sign. A blue or yellow ring around the cornea may be another telltale sign.

Macular degeneration, which causes central vision to blur over time, is most prevalent among those over 50 but may affect younger individuals as well.

Diabetic retinopathy

Diabetic Retinopathy occurs when diabetes damages blood vessels in the retina, which is the light-sensitive lining at the back of the eye. Over time, these compromised vessels begin leaking clear fluid or hemorrhaging, leaving some areas without adequate blood supply and leading to scarring and bleeding that can eventually result in loss of vision – this condition being one of the leading causes of blindness among adults with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

As the vascular disease in diabetic retinopathy advances, it may lead to macular edema (swelling of the retina) or retinal detachment. Furthermore, increased pressure in the eye may cause glaucoma; with proper treatment this progression of disease can be prevented or delayed.

Regular eye exams are of vital importance for people living with diabetes, as this condition often goes undetected until significant damage has been done. By keeping blood sugar levels under control and prioritizing regular eye examinations as recommended by their doctors, diabetic patients can prevent further vision deterioration while even improving it over time.

The main symptoms of macular degeneration are blurry or distorted vision and floaters – dark spots caused by leakage from weak blood vessels – as well as blood entering the vitreous humor gel of your eye, leading to yellow deposits known as drusen formation.

Proliferative Retinopathy If the disease progresses to proliferative retinopathy, the weakened blood vessels may begin producing abnormal new vessels that leak continuously and lead to significant blood loss and vision impairment; vitrectomy surgery may then be required in order to stop this leakage of fluid and restore vision loss.

Anti-VEGF injection therapy — in which medication is injected directly into the eye to inhibit a protein that promotes abnormal blood vessel growth — is a highly effective solution. Laser surgery can also be utilized to create thousands of small laser burns on retinal areas outside the macula to shrink abnormal blood vessels and prevent leakage.

Macular degeneration

Macular degeneration is an age-related condition that gradually destroys central vision in older adults, known as the macula. This central portion of vision provides sharp focus when looking straight ahead when driving or reading; its loss becomes increasingly likely over time as macular degeneration progresses – it is the primary cause of loss of central vision among this population.

Macular degeneration is not painful and may progress without you being aware of its progress until its advanced stage, where your central vision becomes blurry, making reading and driving difficult, or you notice straight lines appear crooked or bent. Therefore, regular dilated eye exams with your physician are recommended in order to identify macular degeneration early.

Macular degeneration risk factors include age, family history and smoking. Women or those with elevated cholesterol are at a greater risk for AMD.

Macular degeneration begins as dry macular degeneration and is marked by the presence of drusen, or clusters of yellow protein deposits under the macula that can be detected with an eye exam. Unfortunately, there is no treatment available at this stage; however, you can protect your vision by eating healthily, exercising regularly and wearing sunglasses.

Wet macular degeneration is more severe and occurs when blood vessels beneath the retina break or leak, allowing fluid to accumulate under it and lead to severe vision loss. Treatment options for wet macular degeneration include medications which inhibit abnormal blood vessel growth as well as laser coagulation to seal leakage from these newly created blood vessels.

If you are experiencing symptoms of macular degeneration, contact West Broward Eyecare Associates right away to take action. We provide nutritional therapy and vitamin supplements such as lutein, zeaxanthin, zinc, copper, and vitamin C which may slow its progress. Furthermore, our doctors offer fluorescein angiography; an imaging test in which dye is injected into a vein before photos are taken of how it travels through blood vessels to photograph retina. This test can help us detect leaky vessels beneath your retina which cause wet macular degeneration.