For people with hard to control high blood pressure, help is on the way. There's now a new experimental procedure called Renal Sympathetic Denervation that can lower high blood pressure without medication. The technique is performed through a tube inserted into a blood vessel in the groin and uses radiowaves to damage nerves near the kidney that fuel elevated blood pressure. A small study sponsored by Ardian, Inc., the company behind this unusual procedure, shows it can be a safe and effective method of lowering blood pressure.
Researchers tested the technique on 52 people whose upper blood pressure number averaged 178 despite taking multiple drugs to lower it. After having the nerve-zapping treatment, subjects saw their upper blood pressure number fall by an average of 32 points. High blood pressure is defined as blood pressure at 140/90 or higher. About 75 million people in the U.S. and 1 billion people around the world have it. Most patients need three or four medications to control high blood pressure. Without drug therapy, the condition significantly increases the chances of heart attack, stroke or death. Up to
20-percent of people with high blood pressure have difficulty controlling it even while taking medication. For them, this medical breakthrough is a promising possibility. The technique developed by California company Ardian, Inc. is currently being tested in the U.S., Europe and Australia.
For more information about this latest study published in the British journal Lancet, click on the following link: http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(10)62039-9/fulltext
To watch animation of this new technique and learn more about the company that developed it, click here:
http://www.ardian.com/medical-professionals/procedure.shtml
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