Renal denervation represents another treatment option in patients with uncontrolled resistant hypertension and may be used in selected patients deemed intolerant to antihypertensive drugs.
These are among the messages of a new consensus statement published in EuroIntervention following a review of evidence by the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Council on Hypertension and the European Association of Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions (EAPCI).
Initial excitement over the potential for renal denervation as a treatment for hypertension was dampened following the release of initial results of the SYMPLICITY HTN-3 trial in 2014 in which it was shown that at six months, renal denervation did not elicit significant incremental blood pressure lowering benefit compared with a sham procedure.
Subsequently, joint ESC and European Society of Hypertension (ESH) guidelines on the management of arterial hypertension, published in 2018, advocated against the routine use of device-based therapies for hypertension, until further evidence of their safety and efficacy came to light. However, newer sham-controlled trials have revitalised hope in the potential of renal denervation, with a number showing statistically significant and clinically meaningful reductions in blood pressure.
In producing the latest consensus statement, the ESC and EAPCI expert panel have reviewed evidence from several “second-generation” randomised, sham-controlled trials, which, they say, demonstrate the safety and the blood-pressure lowering efficacy of radiofrequency and ultrasound renal denervation. The second generation of trials have involved either the Symplicity Spyral (Medtronic) multi-electrode radiofrequency device or the Paradise (ReCor Medical) ultrasound system.
“Since the publication of the 2018 ESC/ESH Guidelines for the Management of Arterial Hypertension, several high-quality, randomised, sham-controlled trials have been published, demonstrating a blood-pressure-lowering efficacy over 24 hours for both radiofrequency and ultrasound renal denervation in a broad spectrum of patients whose hypertension ranges from mild-to-moderate to severe and resistant,” Emanuele Barbato (University of Rome, Rome, Italy) and colleagues write in EuroIntervention.
“This expert group proposes that renal denervation is an adjunct treatment option in uncontrolled resistant hypertension, confirmed by ambulatory blood pressure measurements, despite best efforts at lifestyle and pharmacological interventions,” the statement notes. Renal denervation may also be used in patients who are unable to tolerate antihypertensive medications in the long term, the writing committee has concluded.
The authors of the paper suggest that a shared decision-making process, taking into account the patient’s global cardiovascular risk and the presence of hypertension-mediated organ damage, should be followed when considering renal denervation as a treatment option.
Furthermore, they state that interventionalists require expertise in renal interventions and specific training in renal denervation procedures. “Centres performing these procedures require the skills and resources to deal with potential complications,” Barbato et al state.
Presently both the Symplicity Spyral and Paradise system carry a CE mark, and Medtronic and ReCor both filed premarket approval applications to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in late 2022 for their respective devices.
“To date, there are at least 18 societal and/or expert consensus documents published, and the increasing number of citations seems to parallel the mounting evidence for renal denervation therapy,” David Kandzari (Piedmont Heart Institute and Cardiovascular Services, Atlanta, USA), a member of the writing committee for the ESC/EAPCI consensus statement and prinicipal investigator in the SPYRAL HTN-ON MED trial, told Cardiovascular News. “In all, these documents are important for providing clinicians with guidance regarding the evidence basis for renal denervation safety and effectiveness, patient selection, and procedural technique. Many of the documents also underscore the need for shared-decision making and accounting for patient preference.
“The ESC/EAPCI document offers the most contemporary evidence and informed clinical considerations for renal denervation, including recommendations for not only patient selection but also for institutions related to renal denervation programme development, patient selection, and operator proficiency.”
