Application in Hypertension of Renal Sympathetic Denervation – A Review

Afferent and efferent sympathetic nerves of the kidney located in the adventitia of the renal artery are involved in the regulation of blood pressure and play a pathophysiological role in the progression and maintenance of hypertension. Renal sympathetic denervation is a potent and safe catheter-based therapeutic approach for the treatment of patients with resistant hypertension. Clinical trials of renal sympathetic denervation have shown significant reduction in blood pressure, which was associated with a reduction in local renal norepinephrine spillover as well as a reduction of whole body sympathetic activation in resistant hypertensive patients.