Uncontrolled Hypertension Treated with Renal Denervation

   Renal denervation, an intravascular procedure that employs radiofrequency pulses induces denervation of the sympathetic innervation of a patient's renal arteries. Approximately 10,000 patients have been treated worldwide resulting in a drop in blood pressure of 28/10 mm Hg in patients that began their treatment with pressures of approximately 180/100 mm Hg, with a response rate of over 90% and a duration of over 36 months of follow-up.
   Additionally, RD was applied to normotensive patients with heart failure resulting in a 25% improvement in left ventricular ejection fraction 12 months after RD.
   RD is investigational in the US.
Annual Congress of the European Society of Cardiology (Munich)