Ocular hypertension: high eye pressure without glaucoma — what it means

Ocular hypertension means the pressure inside the eye is above the usual range (roughly above 21 mmHg) but the optic nerve and visual field are healthy. It is common and is often picked up at a routine eye test.

Does it mean I will get glaucoma?

Not necessarily. Most people with ocular hypertension never develop glaucoma, but the risk is higher than average and increases with higher pressure, thinner corneas, older age, a family history of glaucoma and some optic nerve features.

Is the reading accurate?

Air-puff readings can overestimate pressure. A specialist uses contact (Goldmann) tonometry, measures corneal thickness — thick corneas read falsely high and thin corneas falsely low — and examines the drainage angle with gonioscopy.

Treatment

UK guidance from NICE recommends offering treatment to people with eye pressure of 24 mmHg or more who are at risk of visual impairment in their lifetime, with selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT) offered as a first option, and drops as an alternative. Lower pressures with few risk factors are usually monitored.

Monitoring

Regular checks of pressure, optic nerve OCT and visual fields, typically every one to two years, or more often if pressure is higher. Read about being a glaucoma suspect and what glaucoma is.

Seeing Ms Tahmina Pearsall

Ms Pearsall assesses raised eye pressure and treats glaucoma, including SLT laser. See glaucoma care.

Ms Tahmina Pearsall is a consultant ophthalmic surgeon who qualified in 1993 and has more than 30 years of experience and over 50,000 procedures performed. She trained at Moorfields Eye Hospital, St Thomas' Hospital and Addenbrooke's Hospital, and sees private patients at multiple clinic locations, including Harley Street in London. Read her full credentials.

Ms Pearsall sees patients at Harley Street, London and other clinic locations. Patients travel from across the UK, including Brighton & Hove and Liverpool, and from Jersey and Guernsey and the Isle of Man.

The first telephone enquiry is free — arrange a free initial call to explain what happened and check whether a review is likely to help. A full clinical consultation with Ms Pearsall costs £250. Treatment prices are listed on the pricing page and confirmed in writing after examination.

This article is general information written for patients and does not replace an individual examination.