Nikhil Prasad Fact checked by:Thailand Medical News Team Sep 05, 2025 6 hours, 34 minutes ago
Medical News: New findings connect multiple health conditions to glaucoma progression
Glaucoma, a leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide, has long been linked to high eye pressure and blood flow issues. But now, researchers from the Department of Ophthalmology at Shimane University Faculty of Medicine in Japan have uncovered deeper connections between glaucoma, the body’s nervous system, and vascular health. This
Medical News report highlights how a heavy burden of other chronic diseases can worsen both heart rhythm control and blood vessel flexibility in glaucoma patients.
Glaucoma Patients Face Hidden Risks from Heart and Nerve Dysfunction
How the study was conducted
The study followed 260 glaucoma patients at Shimane University Hospital between June 2023 and July 2024. Two main types of glaucoma were included—primary open-angle glaucoma (PG) and exfoliation glaucoma (EG). Researchers measured heart rate variability (HRV), which reflects the balance of the autonomic nervous system, and acceleration plethysmography (APG), a test that shows how stiff or flexible arteries are. These results were compared with the Age-Adjusted Charlson Comorbidity Index (ACCI), a scale that measures the number and seriousness of other chronic diseases in a patient.
Key findings of the research
Patients with higher comorbidity scores had poorer results in both nervous system and vascular health tests. Specifically, HRV results showed that people with more health problems had weaker low-frequency responses, indicating reduced sympathetic nervous activity, while parasympathetic activity appeared relatively stronger. This suggests their nervous system was unbalanced and less adaptable. APG results further showed stiffer arteries, with particular drops in the c, d, and e peaks of the pulse wave, which represent blood flow and resistance in vessels.
Among patients, those with exfoliation glaucoma tended to be older and carried a heavier disease burden compared to those with primary open-angle glaucoma. Interestingly, the relationship between comorbidities and heart rhythm changes was more visible in the primary open-angle group. Researchers believe this may be because younger patients retain some adaptability in the nervous system, making the effects of multiple illnesses easier to detect, while older patients with exfoliation glaucoma may already have severe vascular damage that masks these changes.
What the results mean
The study makes it clear that glaucoma is not just an eye disease. It is closely tied to the body’s overall health, especially the cardiovascular and nervous systems. Patients with multiple health conditions—such as heart disease, diabetes, or hypertension—face a higher risk of having impaired heart-nerve balance and stiffer arteries, which may accelerate glaucoma progression. The findings also hint that medications, including beta-blockers and blood pressure drugs, may play a role in altering this balance and need to be carefully considered.
trong>Conclusion
The study strongly suggests that doctors should view glaucoma as part of a wider health picture rather than treating it in isolation. Monitoring heart rhythm variability and vascular stiffness could provide valuable insights into the risk faced by glaucoma patients, especially those with several chronic illnesses. By better understanding how systemic diseases interact with glaucoma, healthcare providers may be able to prevent faster vision loss and improve long-term patient outcomes. The key lesson is that protecting eyesight in glaucoma requires a holistic approach that includes managing other health conditions alongside eye treatments.
The study findings were published in the peer reviewed journal: Biomedicines.
https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9059/13/9/2155
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