Renal Denervation for Resistant Hypertension?

Ever since Schlaich et al.1 first reported on a patient with a blood pressure of 161/107 mm Hg (despite treatment with seven different antihypertensive drugs) that decreased to 127/81 mm Hg after renal denervation, the medical community has been enamored with this procedure. Resistant hypertension evolved into a fashionable diagnosis, and the number of publications pertaining to it grew rapidly.2 Medical-device companies fancied renal denervation as the next big innovation and as a blockbuster therapy for millions of patients. A press release from the American Heart Association even touted renal denervation as a potential “cure” for mild hypertension.3 Trials such . . .