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Post-Stroke vision problem

What the stats reveal!

In 2006, the Third National Health and Morbidity Survey spilled the beans that 0.3% of Malaysians had strokes. Fast forward to 2011, and that number doubled to 0.7%, with a spike in different age groups, reaching 7.8% in folks 75 and older.

Here’s the scoop on what those stroke survivors faced: 27% grappled with wonky visual fields, 20% had eye movement hiccups, 4% wrestled with dimmed vision, and 2% tackled tricky perception issues. Surprise, surprise – 15% played host to a combo platter of these vision challenges.

Post-stroke visual anomaly ?

So, why the vision hiccups after a stroke? Blame it on the brain damage, which messes with both the eyes and the brain’s visual processing center. Depending on where the brain takes a hit, different vision troubles pop up.

Neuro-Optometric Vision rehabilitation is important to maximize the patient’s visual function. These wizards team up with physio and occupational therapists, working their magic to boost vision skills in reading, moving around, and tackling everyday tasks. Stroke survivors, prepare to learn some fresh moves with these vision-savvy allies!

Let’s break down the vision hiccups after a stroke:

(i) Visual field loss

Ever heard of central and peripheral vision? Well, if a stroke messes with your central vision, it’s like trying to see the world from the edges – no sight in the center. Peripheral vision loss, on the other hand, narrows your view to just one side, either right or left.

(ii) Eye movement problems

Picture this: your eyes acting like they’re on a roller coaster. That’s what happens with eye movement problems post-stroke. Judging distances becomes a puzzle, shifting your gaze from one thing to another gets tricky, and to top it off, things might seem a bit shaky – a condition called nystagmus.

(iii) Visual processing problems

When the brain’s visual receiver goes haywire after a stroke, it leads to visual processing problems – also known as visual neglect. The brain starts ignoring info from one side of the eye, making it hard for the patient to tell left from right.

Patients with stroke after visited an Ophthalmologist should visit a Neuro-optometrist who specialized in Neuro-Optometric Vision rehabilitation so that they can advise the best and most suitable treatment plans.  Visual field loss usually can be treated with different optical aids.

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