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Medical Author:

Andrew A. Dahl, MD, FACS

Andrew A. Dahl, MD, FACS

Andrew A. Dahl, MD, is a board-certified ophthalmologist. Dr. Dahl's educational background includes a BA with Honors and Distinction from Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT, and an MD from Cornell University, where he was selected for Alpha Omega Alpha, the national medical honor society. He had an internal medical internship at the New York Hospital/Cornell Medical Center.

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Medical Editor:

William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

Dr. Shiel received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from the University of Notre Dame. There he was involved in research in radiation biology and received the Huisking Scholarship. After graduating from St. Louis University School of Medicine, he completed his Internal Medicine residency and Rheumatology fellowship at the University of California, Irvine. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology.

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Anyone can get glaucoma. This disease affects approximately 3 million people in the United States and more than 60 million people worldwide. Many of these individuals are unaware that they have glaucoma. It is the second leading cause of blindness both in the United States and worldwide.

Glaucoma tends to run in families. If a person has several family members with glaucoma, he or she is at a significantly increased risk of developing glaucoma. Glaucoma is more prevalent as people get older. It is also more common in people with diabetes, uncontrolled hypertension (high blood pressure), or certain other medical conditions. A person's risk also increases if he or she is severely nearsighted or farsighted or if they have a history of certain eye conditions or eye injuries.

No one knows why certain ethnic groups, such as African Americans, have higher rates of glaucoma that lead to blindness. Primary open-angle glaucoma is the leading cause of blindness among African Americans and Alaskan natives, occurring 6 to 8 times more often than in Caucasians, often in the earlier stages of life. People of Asian origin have a much higher incidence of angle-closure glaucoma than Caucasians or African Americans. In the United States, 90% of glaucoma is of the open-angle type and 10% is of the angle-closure type, while in China and Japan, the two types are approximately equal.

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Acute Angle-Closure Glaucoma Acute angle-closure glaucoma is caused by a rapid or sudden increase in pressure inside the eye, called intraocular pressure (IOP). The condition requires treat...learn more >>

Adult Glaucoma Suspect Glaucoma is usually high pressure inside the eye that damages the optic nerve and can result in permanent vision loss. Not all 3 criteria (that is, high pressur...learn more >>

Angle Recession Glaucoma Traumatic glaucoma refers to a group of ocular disorders that occur after the eye undergoes trauma. Following this trauma, different mechanisms can cause an abn...learn more >>

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