Citizens of Europe at risk for heart attacks, stroke and chronic kidney disease due to uncontrolled high blood pressure will benefit from new expert treatment guidelines that recognise the benefits of renal denervation, a statement issued by the European Alliance for Patient Access has claimed.
The European Society of Hypertension (ESH) updated its treatment guidance to include renal denervation as a treatment option for patients who need arterial hypertension management.
Inclusion of renal denervation in the treatment guidelines means patients who struggle to lower their blood pressure through diet, exercise or antihypertensive medications will now have a safe, effective adjunctive treatment option, the Alliance said in its statement. The guidelines were also endorsed by the European Renal Association (ERA) and the International Society of Hypertension (ISH).
Renal denervation entails delivering energy to patients’ kidney nerves, thus reducing blood pressure.
In response to the updated guidance, Neil Betteridge, director of the European Alliance for Patient Access, said: “In Europe, cardiometabolic conditions have historically been—and are expected to continue being—a major public health burden, and unmanaged hypertension is a significant underlying cause of many of these conditions.
“Any real push to address the public health burden of cardiovascular disease and chronic kidney disease requires that health systems prioritise the treatment of hypertension by including renal denervation as an accessible treatment option. If policy and clinical practice follows the new expert guidance, renal denervation has the potential to have a very real and positive impact on patients.”
