Hello and welcome to the Zero to Finals podcast.

My name is Tom, and in this episode I'm going to be talking to you about acute angle closure glaucoma.

And you can find written notes on this topic at zero tofinals.com slash acute glaucoma

or in the ophthalmology section of the zero definals medicine book so let's get

straight into it glaucoma refers to the optic nerve damage that's caused by a significant rise in intraocular

pressure the raised intraocular pressure is caused by a blockage in aqueous humor trying to escape from the eyes. If the aqueous

humor is blocked from escape in the eyes, the pressure inside the eye builds up and this leads to damage

to the optic nerve. Acute angle closure glaucoma occurs when the iris bulges forward and seals off the

trabecular meshwork from the anterior chamber.

And this prevents aqueous humour being able to drain away. Remember that aqueous humor normally drains

from the posterior chamber into the anterior chamber and then through the trabecular meshwork and away out of the eye. But if the iris is bulging forward and sealing off the trabecular meshwork,

it means the aqueous humour is trapped inside the eye.

And this leads to a continual buildup of pressure in the eye.

The pressure builds particularly in the posterior chamber,

which causes pressure behind the iris and worsens the closure of the angle.

So this extra pressure in the posterior chamber further presses the iris and further blocks off the trabecular meshwork.

Acute angle closure glaucoma is an ophthalmology emergency and it requires emergency treatment to prevent

permanent loss of vision. So what are the risk factors for developing acute angle closure glaucoma?

But they're slightly different to open angle glaucoma and the risk factors are increasing age.

Females are affected about four times more often than males.

Family history of angle closure glaucoma being from a Chinese or East Asian ethnic origin,

which is different to open angle glaucoma, which is more common in people from a black ethnic origin.

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