[Renal sympathetic denervation in treatment-resistant hypertension]

Renal denervation (RDN) has been introduced as a potential new treatment for patients with treatment-resistant hypertension, defined as a blood pressure above 140/90 mm Hg despite treatment with at least three antihypertensive drugs. We present an overview of this type of treatment, describe the method and discuss its possible future uses.

The review is based on a discretionary selection of relevant articles from our archive, our own experience and a literature search in PubMed.

The use of RDN for treatment-resistant hypertension is based on a single randomised study with a total of 104 patients, in which the intervention group experienced a fall in blood pressure of 32/12 mm Hg, while blood pressure in the control group remained unchanged. More than 16,000 patients, particularly in Germany, have been treated on this basis. In the USA, data from a larger randomised study (n = 530) that includes sham surgery are awaited before any decision is made on whether to approve the method for use.

Before RDN can become recommended treatment in Norway, more evidence is required that the method lowers blood pressure, and that this reduces morbidity and mortality.