Radiofrequency renal denervation is effective – and safe?

Hypertension remains a major contributor to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality with increasing prevalence worldwide1. Despite the availability of several effective pharmacological treatment options, control of high blood pressure (BP) to target values remains challenging in many patients. Catheter-based renal denervation (RDN) is a treatment modality which targets renal sympathetic activity, a crucial component of the pathophysiology of uncontrolled hypertension2. With the publication of several recent randomised, sham-controlled trials3,4,5,6,7, the proof of principle for the blood pressure-lowering efficacy of radiofrequency and ultrasound RDN has been provided. In these studies, treatment with RDN when compared with sham was associated with larger ...