First experience with endovascular ultrasound renal denervation for the treatment of resistant hypertension

Aims: To evaluate a novel modality utilising ultrasound for renal denervation designed to reduce the duration of the intervention as well as to increase the consistency of the clinical outcome. Methods and results: Eleven consecutive patients suffering from resistant hypertension as defined by the ESH-ESC guidelines were treated by transcatheter renal denervation using the CE-marked PARADISE (TM) technology (ReCor Medical, Ronkonkoma, NY, USA). An average of 5.1 ultrasound emissions were delivered in each subject for a total denervation duration of less than four minutes and the treatment was well tolerated by all patients. Both office and home blood pressure measurements showed an immediate, significant and sustained decrease in blood pressure. Three-month results were comparable to published data on radiofrequency renal denervation with an average reduction in office and home blood pressure of -36/-17 mmHg and -22/-12 mmHg, respectively. Conclusions: Ultrasound renal denervation appears to be a safe and effective treatment for resistant hypertension and further studies will be performed to confirm these preliminary results.