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Feel Pulse In Eye When At High Altitude. Feel Panic During Flying. Blood Pressure 160/79. Suggest?
Posted on
Thu, 11 Jul 2013
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team
Thu, 11 Jul 2013
Answered on
Sat, 3 Aug 2013
Last reviewed on
Question : when i am in high altitude i occasionally see my pulse in left eye..it happens when flying as well then panic starts ...my blood pressure is usually normal..but when this occurs...it elevates to 160/79
Dear patient,
The condition that you mention is suggestive of blepharospasm, actually a benign "twitching" of the smooth muscle of the eyelids, which tends to happen during stress, sleep deprivation or after straining vision for prolonged periods of time; usually it is not a sign of systemic hypertension. Since it is a rhythmic involuntary contraction it looks pulsatile.
Hope this helps, best regards,
Dr Brenes-Salazar MD
Mayo Clinic Rochester
The condition that you mention is suggestive of blepharospasm, actually a benign "twitching" of the smooth muscle of the eyelids, which tends to happen during stress, sleep deprivation or after straining vision for prolonged periods of time; usually it is not a sign of systemic hypertension. Since it is a rhythmic involuntary contraction it looks pulsatile.
Hope this helps, best regards,
Dr Brenes-Salazar MD
Mayo Clinic Rochester
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
i looked that up ...its the pulse in my left eye that beats at the same time my heart pumps its occurs also when i fly and in high altitudes .when i look inot computer screens and in the shower any that is white i can see my pulse in left eye only ..its not a twitch.
Sorry about the confusion, now you made it clear that it is a vascular pulsation. Most of the time, this corresponds to the pulsation of the retinal arteries in the back of your eye bulb (which is the reason why it is synchronous with your other peripheral arterial pulses). It can happen with increased systemic blood pressure as you mention. It would not be worrisome if it only happens in such conditions as you mention (eg. stress or high altitude) which are known to increase blood pressure. Nevertheless, the following things need to be ruled out to make sure that it is a benign phenomenon:
1) Make sure you don't suffer from chronic high blood pressure
2) Make sure that your intraocular pressure is normal
3) Make sure that your retinal fundoscopic exam is normal
The first one can be most accurately achieved by an ambulatory blood pressure monitor (alternatively, a log of blood pressures over 2 weeks). #2 and #3 you need to see an ophtalmologist who can perform these tests.
Hope (that now) this is useful! Wish you the best,
Dr Brenes-Salazar MD
Mayo Clinic MN
1) Make sure you don't suffer from chronic high blood pressure
2) Make sure that your intraocular pressure is normal
3) Make sure that your retinal fundoscopic exam is normal
The first one can be most accurately achieved by an ambulatory blood pressure monitor (alternatively, a log of blood pressures over 2 weeks). #2 and #3 you need to see an ophtalmologist who can perform these tests.
Hope (that now) this is useful! Wish you the best,
Dr Brenes-Salazar MD
Mayo Clinic MN
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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