A new study has found that two common treatments for cardiovascular disease may lower individuals’ risk of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and the progression of the disease.

Researchers involved with this study found that individuals who took low-dose aspirin reduced their chances of developing vision-impacting AMD by 18 percent.

Aspirin is known to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects and can reduce the risk of blood vessel blockage. Scientists involved with the study say low-dose aspirin was also found to be more beneficial in non-vitamin users.

Cholesterol-lowering statin drugs, on the other hand, were not found to have a protective effect against AMD.

It’s known that the two conditions have some common risk factors including smoking, high blood pressure and inflammation, and a recent study has shown that people who have early-stage AMD have an increased risk of developing heart disease as well.

AMD affects millions of Americans and is the leading cause of vision loss in the U.S.

According to WebMD, previous studies have suggested that high doses of antioxidants vitamin C, vitamin E and beta-carotene, along with zinc may reduce the risk of vision loss from AMD.

In addition, nutritional supplements containing the essential fatty acids omega-3 and omega-6 have been shown to help restore and maintain tear formation and eye lubrication.