Drugs for resistant hypertension work in about a third of patients, if they take them at all. A relatively new technique called kidney denervation uses ultrasound to heat overactive nerves that transmit signals to the kidneys. The associated new study suggests that the technologyBlood pressure in patientswith drug resistance can reduce.
New therapeutic approach against resistant hypertension
The kidneys help regulate blood pressure by adjusting how much water they extract from the bloodstream. Hypertension is known as a silent killer because although the disease has few or no symptoms, it increases a person's risk of potentially fatal heart disease and stroke. In people with high blood pressure, this can affect the kidneys' ability to regulate blood pressure. However, there is an alternative to drug treatment called renal denervation for people with mild to moderate hypertension. This approach reduces overactivity in nerves that transmit signals from the central nervous system to the kidneys, which accordingly lowers blood pressure.
The innovative technique involves inserting a flexible catheter through a small incision in the groin. The doctor then threads this into the artery that supplies each kidney with blood. For a few seconds, a device at the tip of the catheter sends controlled bursts of ultrasound into the tissue surrounding the artery. The ultrasound pulses heat up and damage some nerve fibers near the kidney, reducing their activity. The clinical study by the same research team now suggests that kidney denervation can lower blood pressure in patients with moderate to severe hypertension who do not respond to drug treatment. After 2 months, the blood pressure of the patients on whom the scientists performed the actual procedure was significantly lower. The resultsthis studysuggest that renal denervation may become an important adjunct to drug therapy.
