Consequent to the 2011 National Health Committee (NHC) referral round, this Technology note considers the case for investing in renal denervation (the application of radio frequency energy via a catheter to block renal nerves) to lower blood pressure in patients with resistant hypertension (high blood pressure that is resistant to pharmaceutical treatment).
The paper gives a high level overview of the procedure, the prevalence and incidence of resistant hypertension, alternative treatments, and the current evidence regarding the procedure’s safety, clinical effectiveness, cost effectiveness and affordability.