Renal Denervation : A New Approach to Treatment of Resistant Hypertension

Hypertension remains the leading cause of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in spite of current medical therapies. It has been estimated that 50% of Western civilization has hypertension and approximately 20% of patients have resistant hypertension. Renal denervation (RDN) is a minimally invasive, endovascular catheter based procedure using radiofrequency ablation aimed at treating resistant hypertension. Early studies show a high degree of effectiveness in renal denervation to treat hypertension. This book examines renal pathophysiology and the rationale for renal denervation, as well as possible long term benefits and risks of this new therapy. The myriad of devices involved in the evolution of this therapy are discussed and the book concludes with analyses of the cost effectiveness and future applications.