ORANGE, Calif.,—St. Joseph Hospital of Orange, on July 11 enrolled its first patient as part of a national clinical trial conducted by Medtronic Inc. for a renal denervation procedure designed to eliminate treatment-resistant hypertension.
St. Joseph Hospital is the only medical center in the Los Angeles/Orange County metro area conducting the clinical trial and is one of only four hospitals statewide conducting the study.
Approximately 76 million Americans suffer from hypertension and about 9 million get no relief from available medicines. High blood pressure and chronic hypertension can lead to heart failure, heart disease, stroke and chronic kidney disease. Treatment-resistant hypertension is defined as systolic blood pressure that remains high (greater than 140/90 mmHg) despite treatment with three or more antihypertensive medications.
The renal denervation procedure is a minimally invasive, catheter-based method for regulating the output of nerves that line the walls of the arteries leading to the kidneys. These nerves are part of the sympathetic nervous system, which is one of the ways the body controls blood pressure. In people with hypertension, the renal nerves are hyperactive, raising blood pressure and contributing to heart, kidney and blood vessel damage.
