They say the eyes are the window to your soul, but did you know they can also show how healthy your heart is? If you weren’t aware, you’re not alone. Specifically, researchers found that approximately half of the nearly 2.2 billion cases of vision impairment worldwide could be improved, or even prevented, by taking simple steps to improve your overall cardiovascular health.
Eye exams are the most reliable, non-invasive way to identify a number of serious—often fatal—cardiovascular conditions.
An annual eye exam detects risk factors consistent with heart disease much sooner than tests and checkups conducted during an annual physical, including identifying high cholesterol 65% of the time, high blood pressure 30% of the time, and diabetes 20% of the time.
In most cases, patients are unaware of minor changes occurring in the vascular system located at the back of the eyes. Changes may include:
- Increased force against the arterial wall—a sign of hypertension
- Tiny embolisms or clots in and around the retina—a sign of blocked arteries
- Small changes in the blood vessels of the eye caused by increased blood sugar levels—an indication of diabetes
Long-term eye health effects
Obviously, left untreated, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes result in debilitating and even deadly outcomes, but over time they also result in specific vision issues, including age-related macular degeneration, cataracts, diabetic retinopathy, and glaucoma.
The good news is that researchers now believe, with increasing confidence, nearly 50% of all eye health issues can be improved or prevented by making heart-healthy lifestyle changes.
5 lifestyle changes for a healthy heart and vision
- Quit smoking
Smoking is the most preventable cause of premature death, by far. Thousands of studies have proven smoking causes significant damage to your blood vessels and your heart health. It’s also a leading contributor to high blood pressure and contributes to increased insulin resistance and diabetes.
2. Live an active lifestyle
You don’t need to run marathons but should make some sort of physical activity a part of your day, every day. Your heart and eyes are muscles, and the stronger your muscles, the better they function. Specifically, the stronger your heart, the easier it is for blood to be pumped throughout your body, including to your eyes. Research consistently shows walking 15-20 minutes a day, or even for 10 minutes after each meal, lowers your blood sugar and improves blood pressure.
3. Lose weight
Being obese, or even overweight has devastating effects on your health. In fact, even being slightly overweight adds additional stress to your heart, increases blood pressure, and contributes to nearly 30% of heart disease in the U.S.
4. Eat a heart and eye-healthy diet
Research shows us that eating a healthy diet prevents heart disease, lowers cholesterol, and helps maintain a healthy weight.
A healthy diet means many things to many different folks, but at its core, a healthy diet focuses on eating more fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and beans, while eating less saturated fat and avoiding processed foods at all costs.
You can get as specific and detailed with a “healthy” diet as you’d like but focusing on the essentials is the key to improved heart and vision health.
5. Reduce your stress
You’ve heard that stress kills, right? It can cause serious damage to your heart as well as your eyesight.
Some of the ways to reduce stress include exercise, yoga, meditation and deep breathing.
The connection between the health of your eyes and the health of your heart is just one example of how the health of one organ can affect the health of another and can be a key indicator of your overall health.
Make sure to schedule an annual eye exam with Dr Boyer and Dr Brian. It’s crucial in taking care of your overall health.
(909)596-6756 2443 Foothill LaVerne CA 91750
(909) 982-0100 1637 Mountain Ave Upland CA 91784
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