As you know, age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of irreversible blindness in the United States and Western nations. But what you may not know is that people with high blood pressure could be at an increased risk of developing AMD.

In a recent study, investigators en-rolled more than 1,200 subjects, including patients with neovascular AMD, non-neovascular AMD and a control group without either condition. Re-searchers monitored participants' blood pressure, blood samples, eye photographs and eating habits. They considered many risk factors for AMD, including eye color, smoking, heart disease, high blood pressure, sunlight exposure, family history and environmental exposures.

After analyzing the data, they determined that patients with advanced AMD were more likely to have high blood pressure than subjects in the control group. (High blood pressure was defined as a diastolic pressure greater than 95 mm Hg.)

Senior study author Dr. Leslie Hyman wrote, "Neovascular AMD cases were more than four times as likely to have elevated diastolic blood pressure than controls, and the odds ratio was much higher among persons with these pressure levels who were also using antihypertensive medication."

Hyman noted that future studies will need to be done to clarify the relationship between cardiovascular disease, hypertension and antihypertensive treatment with AMD.