Renal denervation therapy involves placing a catheter inside the blood vessels that supply to the kidneys and destroying the nerves responsible for their innervation.
Renal denervation therapy involves precisely targetting and disrupting the sympathetic nerves surrounding the kidneys, which play a vital role in regulating blood pressure. (Creative Commons)
Meet Ravi (name changed), a youngster from Hyderabad. Ravi’s life recently took an unexpected turn when he was diagnosed with hypertension, a condition characterised by high blood pressure. Concerned about his health, he promptly sought medical help and consulted a doctor.
Following the doctor’s advice, Ravi diligently started taking the prescribed medications to control his blood pressure. However, to his dismay, his blood pressure remained stubbornly high despite his efforts.
The disappointment weighed heavily on Ravi’s shoulders as he grappled with the realisation that the medication alone was not enough to bring his blood pressure under control.
Determined to regain his health and lead a fulfilling life, Ravi sought a second opinion.
He consulted Dr Rajasekhar Varda, Senior Consultant, Interventional Cardiology & Electrophysiology, at Yashoda Hospital in Hyderabad, hoping to find a solution that would work for him.
The specialist conducted a comprehensive evaluation, taking into account Ravi’s medical history, lifestyle, and possible underlying conditions that might be contributing to his “resistant hypertension”.
“Blood pressure that remains above target despite taking medications concurrently is referred to as resistant hypertension. While medication and lifestyle changes have long been the primary approaches to managing hypertension, some patients experience resistance to these conventional treatments,” explained Dr Varda.
In order to treat Ravi’s condition, Dr Varda took an interesting approach. He used renal denervation therapy to treat the resistant hypertension — used for the first time in the Telugu states and the second time in the country.
Imagine your body is like a big city with different neighbourhoods. Each neighbourhood has its own people who keep everything running smoothly.
Renal denervation therapy. (CIRSE)
But sometimes, one neighbourhood can become a little too active and cause problems for the rest of the city. This is a bit like what happens in our bodies when someone has high blood pressure.
In the case of high blood pressure, the “kidney neighbourhood” becomes too active and causes the rise in blood pressure. It’s like there is some mischievous signal coming from this neighbourhood that causes the blood pressure to go up and cause trouble for the rest of the body.
Renal denervation therapy is the solution to this problem.
“Renal denervation therapy involves placing a catheter inside the blood vessels that supply to the kidneys and ablating (destroying the nerves responsible for their innervation),” explained Dr Varda. He added that ultrasound or radiofrequency energy is applied to selectively deactivate the sympathetic nerves, restoring a more balanced blood pressure response.
Once this happens, it disrupts the mischievous activity and the “kidney neighbourhood” becomes calm and peaceful once again, subsequently lowering the blood pressure.
“Renal denervation therapy involves precisely targetting and disrupting the sympathetic nerves surrounding the kidneys, which play a vital role in regulating blood pressure. By interrupting these nerves’ signals, the therapy aims to reduce blood pressure levels and provide relief to patients struggling with resistant hypertension,” explained Dr Varda.
He added that after the therapy, the body has a chance to heal and the blood pressure becomes healthier. This helps the person feel better and reduces the risk of other problems that can happen when the blood pressure is too high.
“Resistant hypertension is an unrecognised and undertreated problem, and there is an unmet need in the treatment of this condition. Renal denervation offers a ray of hope to those patients who have uncontrollable hypertension despite multiple medication. It is a novel treatment technology whose time has perhaps come,” said Dr Varda.
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