Montefiore vision experts encourage public to learn more about glaucoma

January is National Glaucoma Awareness Month. Vision experts at Montefiore Medical Center encourage the public to learn more about this disease, which is the leading cause of preventable blindness in the United States.

On Thursday, January 26 at 2 p.m., follow the hashtag #Monte_GLC on Twitter to be part of the conversation and learn more about early detection and treatment of glaucoma. The chat will feature glaucoma specialist Anurag Shrivastava, MD, of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and will be moderated by National Glaucoma Research, a program of the American Health Assistance Foundation.

Educating the public about glaucoma is critical, particularly in the Bronx where residents have among the highest rates of this disease in the nation. Because glaucoma gives few warning signs until permanent, lasting damage has occurred, vision experts at Montefiore urge local men and women to regularly check their eye health.

"Blacks and Hispanics, who make up the majority of the Bronx population, have much higher rates of glaucoma than the general population," said Roy Chuck, MD, PhD, chairman of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at Montefiore Medical Center and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. "As a result, regular eye exams for these two groups, especially those over the age of 60 or those who have a family history of glaucoma, are extremely important."