Your Blood Pressure and Glaucoma

Is your blood pressure related to glaucoma? In short, the answer is yes, but the relationship between blood pressure, intraocular eye pressure and glaucoma is not as obvious as you might think.

Glaucoma is a complex disease resulting in the loss of nerve fibers that normally send visual signals from the eye to the brain. In most instances, glaucoma worsens when pressure inside the eye is high. Elevated intraocular pressure can injure sensitive nerve fibers, resulting in progressive and permanent vision loss.

According to the CDC, approximately half of US adults have [systemic] hypertension, or high blood pressure. This is also a complex disease process derived from pressure exerted by the blood volume itself on the vessel walls. The opposite of hypertension is called hypotension, or low blood pressure. Both [systemic] hypertension and hypotension can affect the health of your eyes. Furthermore, medical overtreatment of hypertension can lead to states of hypotension. This is particularly true while resting or sleeping, when blood pressure is naturally low. During these periods, hypotension is more common.

In patients with both glaucoma and periods of hypotension, optic nerve damage can occur. In order to illustrate this relationship, imagine your blood vessel as a garden hose. Inside the hose is water, and the pressure exerted on the walls of the hose is determined by the flow of water from the spigot, as well as the stiffness of the hose itself. Now imagine you pinch the hose with your hands. This counter pressure is analogous to what your eyes exert back on the vessel walls. If you pinch too hard, water flow will reduce to a trickle or stop altogether. If the amount of blood flowing to your eyes is dramatically reduced, which can occur in periods of low blood pressure (hypotension) and high eye pressure (glaucoma), structures in the eye including the optic nerve can be damaged, and glaucoma can progress more rapidly. Therefore, it is important to be aware of this relationship.

Talk with your primary care physician and your eye doctor about your glaucoma. It may be beneficial to monitor your blood pressure at times of rest such as when you first wake up. If blood pressure is too low at these times, some medications may need to be reduced or stopped. Talk to your eye doctor, as treating high eye pressure can improve the blood flow to the eye, and slow progression of glaucoma. These conversations will help optimize both your eye and overall health.

Posted on November 17, 2025. Article by Kathryn Bollinger MD, PhD and Ryan F. Bloomquist MD, PhD, DMD, MBA, MPH.