Renal Denervation (RDN) therapy, a novel breakthrough in the management of resistant hypertension.

About the Patient and Condition

Mr. Elkaaar Singh Rajput, 56-year-old male was diagnosed to have high blood pressure about 11 years back. He underwent consultations from many doctors and was taking 8 different medicines in maximal doses every day for controlling his blood pressure.

Case Scenario

Mr. Elkaaar Singh Rajput was taking maximal doses of medicine every day, yet his BP was not under control and was having recurrent weakness in his arms and impending paralysis. He was getting fed up with medicines and was about to give up. It was then, when he contacted Apollo Hospital, Indore and Dr Roshan Rao for treatment of his blood pressure.

After detailed evaluation and reviewing the medicines, doctors felt that there was no more scope for increasing the dose or adding any further medication. The continuous high blood pressure was not only posing risk to his other organs, but also increasing the risk of brain haemorrhage, which could leave him incapacitated for the rest of his life. He was falling into the category of Resistant Hypertension. The multi-disciplinary team decided for Renal Denervation (RDN) therapy as a life –saving procedure.

He successfully underwent this procedure on 17th October 2020 which incidentally, is celebrated as World Hypertension day for the year 2020. The procedure was done by the team comprising of Dr K. Roshan Rao, Dr Sarita Rao, Dr Kshitij Dubey, Dr Vikas Gupta and Dr Shirish Agrawal.

Worldwide Scenario

An estimated 1.13 billion people worldwide have hypertension, most (two-thirds) living in low- and middle-income countries. Nearly 10.8% of all deaths in India are attributed to hypertension. 10-20% percent of patients with hypertension are resistant. This is the subgroup of patients that are at even greater risk of cardiovascular complications.

Catheter-based Sympathetic Renal Denervation (RDN) has emerged as a potential therapeutic option for patients with resistant hypertension. It is a first-of-its-kind device-based treatment for resistant hypertension. Sympathetic nerves around the blood vessels of kidney release certain chemicals responsible for high blood pressure. RDN addresses these nerves thereby controlling the release of chemicals and the high blood pressure. After the therapy, a significant reduction in type and doses of medicines to control blood pressure is expected.

Expertise at Apollo Hospitals

Renal Denervation (RDN) therapy is a novel breakthrough in the management of uncontrolled or resistant hypertension. The procedure uses radiofrequency ablation to burn the nerve in the renal arteries. This causes reduction in the nerve activity which further reduces blood pressure. Apollo Hospital, Indore, took special permission from the medical council on compassionate grounds to import the device from outside the country. This is the first procedure of this kind in Central India and the second in the Indian subcontinent. The first procedure was performed only about a week ago in Kolkata.

Dr. Sarita Rao said that, “Hypertension is defined as blood pressure that is constantly higher than the recommended level of 140/90 mm Hg. Due to lack of symptoms, this condition gets detected only years after the actual onset. Precautionary measures are therefore a must, especially in those with a family history of the condition. Uncontrolled hypertension can affect most body organs over time and put more load on the heart causing it to enlarge and weaken. Over time, this can lead to heart failure. It is thus imperative to undergo regular health checks more so during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to understand whether your vitals are in control or not. It is also imperative to build your immunity by eating healthy and undertaking regular physical exercise. Hypertension is a chronic condition and lifestyle changes are very important in managing and preventing it. While medication can control blood pressure, it cannot cure the condition. Therefore, the importance of a healthy lifestyle must be inculcated from a very young age, especially in those with a family history of high blood pressure.”

Apollo Hospitals – Touching Lives

Dr. K Roshan Rao, Head of the Cardiology Department quoted that incidentally this procedure was done on World Hypertension day. The theme of this year is “Measure Your Blood Pressure, Control It, Live Longer” which makes people aware of their blood pressure numbers. And what could have been a better day to make people conscious about the disease and to avoid such severe hypertension by apt lifestyle and therapeutic modifications, and to treat what otherwise was untreatable.

Apollo Hospitals is known to create awareness among people to maintain a healthy lifestyle and to introduce new life-saving techniques to treat critically ill patients.

Patient’s testimonial

Patient’s family thanked the entire team of Apollo Hospitals, Indore for giving new life to him.