Revolutionary operation may cure hypertension

Today, approximately 1 billion people worldwide have high blood pressure, and this number is expected to increase to 1.56 billion people by the year 2025. That translates to about 1 out of every 4 adults being afflicted with hypertension. Hypertension is prevalent in developing as well as in developed countries. Prolonged uncontrolled or inadequate treatment of hypertension is a major risk factor for the occurrence of heart attack, stroke, kidney failure and other cardiovascular diseases.
A surgery conducted by medical scientists from Britain has shown that it can “cure” persistent high blood pressure.This could reduce the likelihood of heart attack or stroke in these people. This surgery was described as a cheap and straight forward and could be most beneficial for those people who don’t respond to medication or cannot tolerate drugs.
The new procedure known as renal sympathetic-nerve ablation, involves placing tiny burns in the nerve responsible for hypertension in some people.This blocks signals from the brain that direct kidneys to keep blood pressure raised. Initial tests suggest that the results of the operation would be effective within three months. The operation was done by cardiologist Martin Rothman,on a 68-year-old London chef, who was a diabetic and had already suffered a stroke and a deep vein thrombosis.The patient was awake throughout the procedure carried out at the London Chest Hospital.Although the patient was kept in the hospital overnight, once greater experience is gained with the technique, patients will be able to go home the same day according to scientists. The patient witnessed a drop in blood pressure just two weeks after the operation and it is thought most patients will see an improvement within three months.“This relatively trivial procedure has the potential to make a serious improvement in the quality of life for the patient. It is very efficient and can lower the blood pressure enough to reduce stroke mortality by 50 percent” remarked the cardiologist.
Paul Sobotka, chief medical officer of Ardian, a company which has developed the equipment for the surgery, said: “For the first time we can think of a cure for hypertension.”David Collier, a doctor and senior clinical trials fellow at the Biomedical Research Unit at Queen Mary University London believes that the operation offers real hope of an alternative to a life on pills for patients whose blood pressure is difficult to control.However, he warned that it was not the “lazy person’s answer” to diet and exercise