Scientists have been able to cure hypertension with ultrasound

(ORDO NEWS) — Hypertension (high blood pressure) is a disease in which the blood pressure in the arteries is constantly elevated.

If left untreated, it can lead to serious health problems such as heart disease, stroke, and kidney failure.

An ultrasound device that calms overactive nerves in the kidneys may help some people control their blood pressure.

According to a new study by researchers at Columbia University and the University of Paris in France, use of the device resulted in a permanent reduction in ambulatory daytime blood pressure by an average of 8.5 points among middle-aged people with hypertension.

As treatment, doctors usually recommend lifestyle changes such as reducing salt intake or weight loss, as well as medications to lower blood pressure in patients with hypertension.

However, about a third of patients with hypertension cannot control their blood pressure despite these interventions.

“Many patients in our clinical practice are the same as those in our study, with uncontrolled blood pressure in their 150s despite some effort,” says Columbia University professor of medicine Ajay Kirtane, MD.

Too long uncontrolled blood pressure can lead to heart failure, strokes, heart attacks, and permanent kidney damage.

Scientists have tested a device that is used in an outpatient procedure called ultrasonic kidney denervation.

The device is still in the research phase and has not yet been approved by experts for use outside of clinical trials.

Hypertension in middle age is thought to be partly caused by overactive nerves in the kidneys, which cause water and sodium retention and release hormones that can raise blood pressure.

(In older people, hypertension is often due to congestion of blood vessels.) Antihypertensive drugs work in different ways to lower blood pressure by widening blood vessels, removing excess fluid, or blocking hormones that raise blood pressure.

But none of these drugs act directly on the renal nerves.

Ultrasound therapy calms overactive nerves in the renal artery by disrupting the signals that lead to hypertension.

The therapy is delivered to the nerves through a thin catheter that is inserted into a vein in the leg or wrist and connected to the kidney.

The new study pooled data from three studies that included more than 500 middle-aged patients with varying degrees of hypertension and medications.

Twice as many patients receiving ultrasound therapy achieved their target daytime blood pressure (less than 135/85) compared with patients in sham groups.

“The result was almost the same across study groups, definitively demonstrating that the device can lower blood pressure in a wide range of patients,” says Kirtane.

The procedure was well tolerated and most patients were discharged from the hospital on the same day. According to Kirtane, an improvement in blood pressure was seen as early as a month after the procedure.

—

Online:

Contact us: [email protected]

Our Standards, Terms of Use: Standard Terms And Conditions.