Renal denervation affords durable BP control

Renal denervation yields substantial reductions in ambulatory systolic blood pressure for up to 36 years in randomized controlled trials and up to 10 years in observational cohort studies without compromising renal function, according to the results of a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Researchers measured the effect of renal denervation on ambulatory BP across contemporary randomized sham-controlled trials and observational cohort studies. Multiple online databases were searched for relevant studies.

A total of four observational studies with up to 10 years of follow-up data and two randomized controlled trials with up to 36 months of follow-up data met the eligibility criteria and were included in the meta-analysis. Data were combined and analysed statistically.

Pooled data from the two contemporary randomized controlled trials showed that renal denervation led to an average reduction of 12.7 mm Hg in ambulatory systolic BP over 36 months compared with the sham procedure (p=0.05).

Similarly, pooled data from the four observational studies showed 14.8-mm Hg reduction in ambulatory systolic BP with renal denervation over a mean long-term follow-up of 7.7 years (range 3.5–9.4 years; p=0.0051). The decrease in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was consistent with the predicted age-related eGFR decline.

No significant changes were noted in terms of antihypertensive drug burden.