A widely used type of blood pressure medicine may be linked to a higher risk of glaucoma, according to a large study from the United Kingdom.
The finding does not prove that the medicine causes the eye disease, but it raises questions about whether some patients may benefit from closer eye checks.
The medicines are called calcium channel blockers, or CCBs. Doctors commonly prescribe them to treat high blood pressure because they relax blood vessels, allowing blood to flow more easily and reducing the pressure the heart must pump against.
High blood pressure is extremely common and can quietly damage the heart, brain, kidneys and blood vessels over many years. Keeping it under control can greatly reduce the risk of serious problems such as heart attacks and strokes, so people should not stop prescribed medicine because of this study.
The research was led by Dr. Alan Kastner and colleagues from Moorfields Eye Hospital and University College London. The team examined health information from 427,480 adults in the U.K., including 33,175 people who were taking calcium channel blockers.
After taking into account age, lifestyle and other health conditions, the researchers found that people using CCBs were more likely to have glaucoma. The same pattern was not seen with other major types of blood pressure medicine examined in the study.
Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that damage the optic nerve, which carries visual information from the eye to the brain. It is a major cause of permanent blindness, and the damage often develops slowly enough that a person may not notice anything is wrong at first.
Many cases of glaucoma are associated with higher-than-normal pressure inside the eye. Over time, this pressure can contribute to damage of the optic nerve, although glaucoma can also occur in people whose eye pressure falls within the normal range.
This makes another finding from the study especially interesting. People taking CCBs showed eye changes commonly associated with glaucoma even though their eye pressure was not higher, suggesting that the possible connection may involve something other than increased pressure inside the eye.
The researchers do not yet know why this association exists. One possibility is that CCBs may influence blood flow or other processes important for the optic nerve, but the study was not designed to identify a biological cause.
It is also possible that other differences between people who take CCBs and those who do not could partly explain the results. Observational studies can identify links between medicines and health outcomes, but they cannot establish with certainty that one directly causes the other.
For patients, the findings are a reason for awareness rather than alarm. Anyone taking a calcium channel blocker should continue the medicine unless a doctor advises otherwise, because uncontrolled high blood pressure carries well-established and potentially serious health risks.
Regular eye examinations may be particularly useful for people who already have other glaucoma risk factors, including older age or a family history of the disease. Eye tests can detect signs of glaucoma before noticeable vision loss occurs, giving doctors a chance to begin treatment earlier.
The researchers say more studies are needed to confirm the association and understand what might explain it. Future research could also help determine whether certain CCBs, doses or groups of patients are more strongly affected than others.
The study was published in JAMA Ophthalmology. Its results add to growing research on how medicines used for conditions elsewhere in the body may also influence eye health.
If you care about eye health, please read studies about how vitamin B may help fight vision loss, and MIND diet may reduce risk of vision loss disease.
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