What Causes Visual Impairment?
Although there have been important strides over the past few decades in the treatment and prevention of eye diseases that cause visual impairment, there are still many causes of vision loss for which there are no cures. Even with the best medical treatment, many Americans live with impaired vision due to systemic conditions or specific eye conditions. Systemic conditions that can cause visual impairment include the following: • Diabetes • Hypertension (high blood pressure) • Cerebrovascular disease or stroke (brain blood vessel occlusion or hemorrhage) • Atherosclerotic disease (cholesterol deposits in blood vessels, including those of the eye) • HIV infection (usually due to infection of the retina with cytomegalovirus, a virus.) • Vitamin A deficiency (most prevalent in third world countries8) • Infections of the eye – Some eye infections, including those caused by parasites, are more common in developing countries. Infections in a pregnant woman such as toxoplasmosis (from the Toxop
