Hypertension and Renal Denervation
Hypertension (High Blood Pressure)
Get the Facts About High Blood Pressure
High blood pressure, or hypertension, occurs when the force of the blood against the artery walls is consistently too high. Although it is normal for blood pressure to fluctuate throughout the day due to various activities, consistently elevated readings may lead to a diagnosis of high blood pressure. Memorial Medical Center and Interventional Cardiologist Muhammad Fazeel Anwar, MD, FACC, now offer specialized care for those dealing with this condition.
Renal denervation is a minimally invasive procedure to treat resistant hypertension – high blood pressure that does not respond well to multiple medications or medical treatment. The treatment targets nerves near the kidneys, which can become overactive and contribute to high blood pressure.
Only a handful of centers in the country currently offer this leading-edge peripheral intervention to effectively lower blood pressure without medication.
The health risks of high blood pressure:
High blood pressure often has no warning signs — so you could have it and not know it.
• Symptoms of HBP (if they occur) can be mild or severe, including headaches, nosebleeds, blurred vision, and difficulty breathing. Symptoms of severe HBP
include severe chest pain, headache with confusion and blurred vision, nausea and vomiting, and anxiety.
• If you have HBP, your heart works harder, which can raise your risk of heart attacks, strokes, heart failure, and kidney failure. These risks can be very serious — especially if your HBP is left untreated.
• U.S. guidelines from the American Heart Association define HBP as any value greater than 130/80 mmHg.
Symplicity: Beyond the typical treatment
The Symplicity procedure from Medtronic is a minimally invasive treatment designed to complement your existing efforts to manage high blood pressure. It works alongside the lifestyle changes and medications you may already be using to help control your blood pressure more effectively.
Your doctor might refer to the Symplicity procedure as a complementary, adjunctive, or supplemental treatment.
How does it work?
Your body controls blood pressure many ways. Your heart and blood vessels are involved, as well as your kidneys. In some people, the nerves connected to the kidneys experience excessive activity that interrupts the natural process of blood pressure control, leading to higher blood pressure. The Symplicity procedure calms excessively active nerves near the kidneys that may be contributing to your HBP.
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