[Renal denervation a treatment for resistant hypertension: a French experience]

Arterial hypertension is the largest single contributor to global mortality, and is poorly controlled in approximately 50% of patients despite lifestyle and pharmacologic interventions. Randomized clinical trials have demonstrated that catheter-based renal sympathetic denervation reduces blood pressure (BP) in patients with resistant hypertension. We sought to evaluate the efficacy of this novel therapy in "Real World" clinical practice. Consecutive patients with treatment-resistant primary hypertension, as defined as home BP>160 mmHg despite treatment with ≥3 antihypertensive drugs, were selected for denervation following renal artery screening. Ambulatory and home BP monitoring was performed in all patients prior to and following percutaneous renal sympathetic denervation. In total, 35 patients were selected for catheter-based renal sympathetic denervation. The mean age was 63.6 ± 11.7 years, 37.1% were women, 37.1% were diabetic, and 11.4% had renal impairment (GFR<45 mL/min). The basal BP (home or ambulatory) was 179.1 ± 20.75/99.66 ± 19.76 mmHg, despite an average of 4.91 ± 0.98 medications per patient. Successful bilateral sympathetic denervation was performed in 33/35 patients (1 renal artery stenosis on angiography [not ablated], 1 patient with renal artery spasm [unilateral denervation]), with an average 5.9 ± 1.6 ablations per renal artery. No procedural complications occurred. At 6 months, blood pressure was 15.5 ± 22.37/87.76 ± 13.97 mmHg (P<0.01). At 2 years follow-up, systolic blood pressure (ABPM or Home BP) was 143.8 ± 15.30 mmHg (P<0.0001) and diastolic 83.42 ± 12.80 mmHg (P=0.0004). There were no adverse events during follow-up, and no deterioration in renal function was observed. Catheter-based renal denervation is safe and efficacious treatment, which results in significant reductions in blood pressure in patients with treatment-resistant hypertension, stable at 2 years follow-up. These results are applicable to real-world patient populations.