(STL Today) — Since learning five years ago that he had high blood pressure, Jeffrey Firebaugh has tried six or seven types and combinations of medications to control it. Nothing has worked.
“I’ve pretty much taken about everything you can take for it,” said Firebaugh, 32. “It’s been a struggle.”
He hopes that taking part in tests for a new investigational procedure offered by doctors at Washington University School of Medicine will get him healthy again. The procedure involves damaging nerves in the arteries that deliver blood to the kidneys, which play an important role in controlling blood pressure.
In people with uncontrollable high blood pressure — known as resistant hypertension — nerves in the kidney’s arteries often fire at abnormally high rates. By interrupting the nerve firing, the kidneys may be less active in secreting chemicals that lead to blood pressure elevation.
“This is an amazing treatment. It could have huge impact down the road,” said Dr. Jasvindar Singh, cardiologist and associate professor who is leading the study at Washington U., one of several sites participating in the research across the country.
The one-time procedure does not harm kidney function or decrease blood pressure too much, Singh said. Tests in Europe have shown no side effects or regeneration of the nerves, he added.
Loading ...
Loading ...
This is great news indeed! But, like with medications, the follow up of three years only is far too short. Patients on these trials ought to be observed for at least ten years, possibly up to thirty years, because that’s how long these treatments have to last.
It is true that followup should be for longer periods of time, but that does not mean we should wait 10 years before utilizing the treatment. If this is an effective treatment for otherwise uncontrollable high blood pressure it means that lives will be saved.