Cochrane corner: renal denervation for resistant hypertension--a broken promise?

Background Resistant or refractory hypertension is a condition characterised by blood pressure (BP) levels persistently over target, despite the contemporary use of three different classes of antihypertensive agents at optimal doses, including a diuretic.1 Epidemiology data indicate that this form of hypertension is not as rare as supposed. Analyses from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data and from a large Spanish database estimate that among treated adults with hypertension, about 12%–13% have resistant hypertension,2 while in trials of individuals aggressively titrated to reach BP target, the prevalence of this condition peaks up to 20%–30%.1 This burden of poorly manageable patients with hypertension poses a major health problem because individuals with resistant hypertension are 50% more likely to experience adverse cardiovascular events and poor outcomes than those with controlled hypertension. The search for new, useful approaches for treating this condition remains an...
Source: Heart - Category: Cardiology Authors: Tags: Editorials Source Type: research