Melbourne researchers have successfully used a new machine that reduces increased blood pressure with the help of radio waves. High blood pressure plagues nearly one fourth to a third of the Australian population and can lead to heart disease, stroke and kidney failure.
Almost half of sufferers do not even show any significant improvement by using the drugs available in the market for high blood pressure.
The new procedure is developed by Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute. This study was a trial on a new way to decrease blood pressure without the use of any drugs for the purpose. The trial was done at an international level and involved 106 patients from Europe and Australia.
For the study a small tube or catheter was inserted into an artery of every patient’s upper thigh and then it was threaded into another artery right next to the artery. The procedure took around 45 minutes.
Thereafter radio waves of low-power were used to heat up and effectively turn off specific nerves which are proven to be extremely effective in high blood pressure. Some of these nerves lie in the kidneys. The device is called Symplicity Catheter System.
This method could help reducing blood pressure in patients unresponsive to medication. Medication fails to control the condition in half of the 1.5 million Australian sufferers.
The device is already approved for use by government medicines regulator the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) and may be used routinely within a year.
According to principal investigator Prof Markus Schlaich the procedure was called renal denervation. He said of all the patients undergoing this procedure 84 per cent experienced a significant (more than 10mmHg) drop in blood pressure, and while it was hoped the results were permanent, they had so far lasted two years. Only 5mm of Hg reduction has been shown to cut down the risk of stroke by 30 per cent.
Prof Schlaich said, “The study also found the therapy was safe, with no serious device or procedure-related complications… High blood pressure is the biggest killer worldwide, and half of those patients treated are not controlled, so this could have a tremendous impact.”
The results of the trial are being presented to the American Heart Association and published in medical journal The Lancet.