The key difference between glaucoma and ocular hypertension is that glaucoma is a condition that causes high pressure alongside optic nerve damage and visual field loss, while ocular hypertension is a condition that only causes raised pressure within the eye.
Glaucoma and ocular hypertension are two associated conditions that affect eye health. This is because untreated ocular hypertension can lead to glaucoma. A critical study revealed that the rate of untreated ocular hypertension patients developing glaucoma was 9.5 percent over a span of 5 years. However, with treatment, the risk of developing glaucoma can be reduced by about 50 percent.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Glaucoma
3. What is Ocular Hypertension
4. Similarities – Glaucoma and Ocular Hypertension
5. Glaucoma vs. Ocular Hypertension in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Glaucoma vs. Ocular Hypertension
What is Glaucoma?
Glaucoma is an eye condition where the optic nerve that connects the eye to the brain gets damaged. This condition is normally due to fluid building in the front part of the eye, which ultimately increases the pressure inside the eye. This condition affects people of all ages but is most common in adults in their 70s and 80s. Glaucoma usually affects both eyes but can worsen in one eye. The signs and symptoms developed due to glaucoma may include blurred vision, tense eye pain, seeing rainbow-colored circles around bright lights, nausea, vomiting, red eyes, headache, and tenderness around the eyes. The risk factors for glaucoma may include age (older people affect ted more), ethnicity (African, Caribbean, and Asian origin), family history, and other medical conditions such as short-sightedness, long-sightedness, and diabetes.
Figure 01: Glaucoma
Glaucoma can be diagnosed through medical history and routine eye tests. Furthermore, treatment options for glaucoma may include eye drops, laser therapy, and surgery.
What is Ocular Hypertension?
Ocular hypertension is due to the raised pressure inside the eye without any damage to the optic nerve. This condition is also known as high intraocular pressure (IOP), which is due to fluid drainage failure. The risk factors for this condition include high and low blood pressure, diabetes, myopia, a thinner central cornea, bleeding at the optic nerve head, pigment dispersion syndrome, pseudoexfoliation syndrome (PXF), being over 40 years of age, family history, ethnicity (being Black or Hispanic), taking steroid medications, and having had previous eye injuries or eye surgery. Moreover, ocular hypertension may only cause signs and symptoms such as feeling eye pain with movement of the eyes or touching the eyes but no other noticeable signs and symptoms.
Ocular hypertension can be diagnosed through medical history, eye examination, gonioscopy, pachymetry, tonometry, visual field test, and optical coherence tomography. Furthermore, treatment options for ocular hypertension may include medications such as prostaglandins, beta-blockers, alpha-adrenergic agonists, carbonic anhydrase inhibitors, rho kinase inhibitors, miotic or cholinergic agents, and laser trabeculoplasty.
What are the Similarities Between Glaucoma and Ocular Hypertension?
- Glaucoma and ocular hypertension are two associated eye conditions.
- Untreated ocular hypertension leads to glaucoma.
- Age, ethnicity, and family history are risk factors for both conditions.
- Both conditions can be diagnosed through medical history and eye examination.
- They can be treated through medications, surgeries, and therapies.
What is the Difference Between Glaucoma and Ocular Hypertension?
Glaucoma is a condition that causes high pressure alongside optic nerve damage and visual field loss, while ocular hypertension is a condition that only causes raised pressure within the eye. Thus, this is the key difference between glaucoma and ocular hypertension. Furthermore, the risk factors for glaucoma may include age (older people affect ted more), ethnicity (African, Caribbean, and Asian origin), family history, and other medical conditions such as short-sightedness, long-sightedness, and diabetes. On the other hand, the risk factors for ocular hypertension include high and low blood pressure, diabetes, myopia, a thinner central cornea, bleeding at the optic nerve head, pigment dispersion syndrome, pseudoexfoliation syndrome (PXF), being over 40 years of age, family history, ethnicity (being Black or Hispanic), taking steroid medications, and having had previous eye injuries or eye surgery.
The infographic below presents the differences between glaucoma and ocular hypertension in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.
Summary – Glaucoma vs. Ocular Hypertension
There are hundreds of different eye conditions that affect the vision. Some of them have no cure, but many other conditions can be treated. Glaucoma and ocular hypertension are two associated eye conditions. Untreated ocular hypertension normally leads to glaucoma. Glaucoma is an eye condition where the optic nerve that connects the eye to the brain gets damaged, while ocular hypertension is an eye condition due to the raised pressure inside the eye without any damage to the optic nerve. So this is the key difference between glaucoma and ocular hypertension.
Reference:
1. “Ocular Hypertension: Causes, Symptoms & Treatment.” Cleveland Clinic.
2. “Glaucoma.” Mayo Clinic.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Acute angle closure glaucoma” By James Heilman, MD – Own work (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia