Thurmond Eye Associates

Glaucoma:
The Second-Leading Cause of Blindness in the U.S.

Your eye has pressure just like your blood, and when this intraocular pressure (IOP) increases to dangerous levels, it damages the optic nerve. This can result in decreased peripheral vision and, eventually, blindness. Glaucoma is similar to ocular hypertension but with accompanying optic nerve damage and vision loss.

Glaucoma affects an estimated 3 million Americans, with 120,000 blind due to the condition. Elsewhere in the world, glaucoma treatment is less available, and glaucoma ranks as a leading cause of blindness just about everywhere. Even if people with glaucoma do not become blind, vision can be severely
impaired.

There are two major types of glaucoma: chronic or primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and acute closed-angle
glaucoma. Other variations include congenital glaucoma, pigmentary glaucoma and secondary glaucoma.

Helpful Definitions:

intraocular pressure -- (IOP) Eye
pressure, as determined by the
amount of aqueous humor filling it. High IOP (ocular hypertension) can be a sign of glaucoma.

optic nerve -- Part of the eye that carries stimuli from the rods and cones to the brain.

peripheral vision -- The edges of
your visual field.

ocular hypertension -- Condition
in which the intraocular pressure of the eye is elevated above normal and which may lead to glaucoma.