Eye diseases
Hypertensive retinopathy: how high blood pressure affects your eyes
Hypertensive retinopathy is a condition where high blood pressure damages the blood vessels in the retina, the part of the eye that helps you see. Over time, uncontrolled high blood pressure can change these vessels and affect your vision.
Urgent: Sudden vision loss is an emergency — go to the nearest hospital emergency department immediately.
What is hypertensive retinopathy?
Your retina is fed by tiny blood vessels. When blood pressure stays high, those vessels can narrow, harden or leak — and that can affect how well you see.
Symptoms of hypertensive retinopathy
- Blurry or hazy vision
- Seeing spots or floaters
- Sudden vision loss (in severe cases)
- Difficulty seeing clearly in bright or low light
How to protect your vision
Often there are no early symptoms, so if you have high blood pressure it's important to have regular eye examinations. Treating and controlling your blood pressure can help prevent or slow hypertensive retinopathy and protect your vision.
Frequently asked questions
When to go to a hospital instead
Go to the nearest hospital emergency department immediately if you have:
- Sudden loss of vision
- Flashes of light or a shower of new floaters
- Eye injury or chemical splash
- Severe eye pain or a very red, painful eye
- Double vision that comes on suddenly