In recent months, renal denervation has been approved as an alternative treatment for hypertension. The treatment is designed to treat drug-resistant hypertension and works by killing the sympathetic nerves in the walls of the renal arteries.
According to a recent article,, "The system was designed for patients who are unresponsive to traditional medications. It uses ultrasound ablation to kill the nerves in the patient’s renal arteries to eliminate any vasoconstriction. This props the arteries in a full open position, which increases blood flow to the kidneys and removes the excess water that leads to hypertension. Treatment includes two to three seven-second doses of ultrasound energy. Sterile water circulates through the system's balloon catheter to support the patient's renal artery wall and transmit the sonic waves during treatment."
What does this mean for you? In all of the cases I have read about this treatment - it does not work for everyone nor is it designed to treat everyone. Patient selection is crucial to the success of the treatment. There have been some renal denervation treatment systems that were not approved by the FDA because they could not prove efficacy. So, if you have uncontrolled hypertension - despite a change in diet, exercise and sticking to your medicine routine, you might want to discuss this option with your physician.