During the exam, the doctor assesses general health conditions. Diabetes, high blood pressure, and arteriosclerosis are often detected during vision exams.

    Diabetes and its complications can affect many parts of the eye. Visual symptoms of diabetes include fluctuating or blurring of vision, occasional double vision, night vision problems and flashes and floaters within the eyes. Sometimes early signs of diabetes are detected in a thorough optometric examination. The most serious eye problem associated with diabetes is diabetic retinopathy. Diabetic retinopathy occurs when there is a weakening or swelling of the tiny blood vessels in the retina of your eye, resulting in blood leakage, the growth of new blood vessels and other changes. If diabetic retinopathy is left untreated, blindness can result.
To learn more about diabetes, click on the following links:
    aolsvc.health.webmd.aol.com
    www.diabetes.org
    
   Many people have high blood pressure for years without knowing it. Uncontrolled high blood pressure can lead to stroke, heart attack, heart failure or kidney failure. According to recent estimates, one in four U.S. adults has high blood pressure, but because there are no symptoms, nearly one-third of these people don't even know they have it. This is why high blood pressure is often called the "silent killer."
To learn more about high blood pressure, click on the following links:
    americanheart.org
    bloodpressure.com
    
   With arteriosclerosis, calcium builds up and becomes many times more concentrated in the wall of the normal artery than it was in childhood. We are not alking about plaque formation but rather a diffuse deposition of calcium in the walls of arteries, finally resulting in an arterial system that is said to be as stiff as a lead pipe. This is has sometimes been called "lead pipe disease."
To learn more about arteriosclerosis, click here:
    healingwithnutrition.com
    infoplease.com