The aim of this research was to examine how regular moderate exercise influences blood flow to the optic nerve and retina in people with glaucoma. The glaucoma group consisted of 25 eyes from 25 patients with primary open-angle glaucoma, while the control group consisted of 22 eyes from 22 healthy individuals. Before, during, and 30 minutes after a 20-minute run at a moderate pace, optical coherence tomography angiography was used to measure foveal avascular zone parameters, whole and regional vessel density (VD) in the superficial layer of the macula, VDs in the radial peripapillary capillary layer of the optic nerve head, intraocular pressure, and cardiovascular parameters. Results showed that after 30 minutes of rest, macular superficial VD of the whole image, parafovea, and superior and nasal regions were higher in the glaucoma group (44.049±5.704, 47.238±5.741, 48.692±6.648, and 47.852±5.078) than immediately after exercise (43.229±5.867, 46.334±5.984, 47.840±6.895, 46.793±5.238, P<0.05). Around 30 minutes after exercise, the VD in the temporal and nasal areas was greater (45.105±5.512 and 47.852±5.078) than before exercise (44.265±5.803 and 46.750±5.639, P<0.05). After 30 minutes of rest, the intraocular pressure in both groups had returned to pre-exercise levels (15.84±3.57 mmHg for glaucoma and 16.50±2.25 mmHg for controls) in both groups (P<0.001). Both groups showed similar values for cardiovascular health indicators. Around 20 minutes of moderate exercise enhanced blood flow to the macula without affecting the visual nerve and reduced intraocular pressure in glaucoma and regular patients. More research is required to determine how these results will help glaucoma patients.
