If you have high blood pressure, it may be time to have a heart to heart talk with your eye doctor. The Center for Disease Control and prevention estimates, 1 in every 3 adults in America has hypertension.

According to the American Optometric Association, untreated high blood pressure can put you at a higher risk for diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, glaucoma, optic neuropathy, and choroidopathy.

Healthy Check, What are your blood pressure numbers?

The new guidelines recently released in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology and Hypertension, The 2017 Guideline for the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation and Management of High Blood Pressure in Adults, means 46% of adults are at risk for hypertension.

• The new hypertension guideline includes the following updates:
• Normal blood pressure: Less than 120/80 mm Hg
• Elevated blood pressure: Systolic (top number) between 120-129 and diastolic (bottom number) less than 80
• Stage 1: Systolic between 130-139 or diastolic between 80-89
• Stage 2: Systolic at least 140 or diastolic at least 90 mm Hg
• Hypertensive crisis: Systolic over 180 and/or diastolic over 120. Patients are advised to immediately contact their doctors.

A comprehensive eye exam is more than getting your new prescription for contact lenses or glasses, it can also detect many eye diseases. An eye doctor is often the first to diagnose other diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure.

Our eyes change gradually over time, so much so, that typically we don’t usually notice the subtle changes. The only way to be sure your eyes are healthy is with a comprehensive dilated eye exam. During an exam, the team at Lake Nona Eye Care, inspects each eye closely for both eye diseases and vision problems, many of which don’t have warning signs.

With all of today’s technology most of us don’t realize how much stress and damage we are putting on our eyes every day. Taking care of your eyes now will pay off with better vision for years to come. Make regular eye exams part routine to ensure you will enjoy better eyesight in the future.

Don’t put if off any longer, schedule your comprehensive eye exam today with Lake Nona Eye Care or call us at 407-658-9990