Patient Education: Glaucoma

What are the common types of glaucoma?

• Acute Angle Closure Glaucoma: sudden closure of your eye’s drainage system, with a dramatic increase in intraocular pressure
  
• Chronic Angle Closure Glaucoma: slow, progressive closure of your eye’s drainage system
  
• Primary Open Angle Glaucoma: the most common form of glaucoma, in which the drainage angle is open but does not allow fluid to drain adequately
  
• Pseudoexfoliation Glaucoma: fibrillary material produced in your eye clogs the drainage system
  
• Pigmentary Glaucoma: pigment released from your iris clogs the drainage system
  
• Angle Recession Glaucoma: caused by damage to the drainage system from a recent or old injury
  
• Neovascular Glaucoma: disorders such as diabetes or blockage of retinal veins cause blood vessels to proliferate on your iris and in the eye’s drainage structures
  
• Congenital Glaucoma: your eye’s drainage system forms abnormally during development

What are my risk factors for glaucoma?
Although glaucoma is most common in adults over the age of 40, susceptibility is not determined by age alone. A genetic component exists, and if you have a family history of the disease, or if you are African-American, you may be at increased risk.

Studies have shown people at greater risk for glaucoma may fit one or more of the following criteria:

• are over the age of 60
  
• are African-American over age 40
  
• have a family history of the disease
  
• have elevated intraocular pressure
  
• are nearsighted

Since early detection is critical to avoiding permanent loss of vision, if you have any of these risk factors you should have regular examinations by an ophthalmologist every one or two years.

People in the general population should have a glaucoma evaluation every two or three years after the age of 40, and every one or two years after the age of 60.

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