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Home > Education and Resources > Vision Loss

Vision Loss Overview

Healthy vision for everyone is our goal. But if you, or someone you love, face vision impairment, it's important that you learn as much as possible about the disease process. Once the disease is under treatment, then you can begin the process of vision rehabilitation to improve your visual function. These are the most common threats to healthy vision that we see at the Envision Rehabilitation Center:
Age-related macular degeneration slowly steals central vision, and is most likely to affect older Americans, particularly those with light features. It is expected to increase from 1.8 million to 2.9 million cases by the year 2020. While there is no cure, some forms of the disease can be stabilized to slow further vision loss.
Every one of America’s 17 million diabetics is at risk for diabetic retinopathy. In this disease, sugar-soaked blood vessels in the retina begin leaking, causing vision impairment. This disease is the leading cause of blindness in the U.S., with up to 24,000 annual new cases. By the year 2020, cases of diabetic retinopathy are expected to increase from 4.1 million to 7.2 million cases.
The leading cause of blindness among African-Americans, glaucoma is caused by high pressure in the eye, which kills cells on the optic nerve. The disease presents no symptoms and can only be diagnosed by an eye doctor. Cases of glaucoma are expected to increase from 2.2 to 3.3 million cases in the next 15 years.
Each year more than 750,000 Americans experience a stroke, and today there are four million Americans who have had a stroke. About one-fifth of all strokes involve visual symptoms, such as hemianopia (visual field loss) or diplopia (double vision). After the age of 55, the incidence of stroke doubles every ten years.