Renal Denervation: Where to Now?

Resistant hypertension remains a growing problem worldwide. Renal sympathetic denervation was thought to be a new method for the treatment for resistant hypertension. Early studies demonstrated a marked benefit in patients who underwent renal denervation procedures, but the pivotal SYMPLICITY 3-HTN trial, the only sham-controlled randomized trial performed, did not show a benefit for patients treated with the procedure compared to sham. There is still much to learn about the physiology and anatomy of renal sympathetic pathways as well as careful attention to medication adherence in order to understand the role of renal sympathetic denervation in treating hypertensive patients. While renal denervation technology remains available in clinical practice outside of the USA, we expect further development of this technology in the upcoming years and the continued evaluation of this technology in patients with hypertension as well as other disease states to fully understand its role.