Russian Journal of Cardiology, 2(27), p. 4794, 2022
DOI: 10.15829/1560-4071-2022-4794
Aim. To investigate the baseline characteristics of patients with resistant hypertension (HTN) undergoing radiofrequency renal sympathetic denervation (RD) and to determine immediate procedural effects.Material and methods. During 2018-2019, two series of radiofrequency RD procedures were performed in patients with true resistant HTN using balloon-type (bipolar ablation) or spiral-type (unipolar ablation) multielectorde catheters. The basic demographic, clinical and laboratory characteristics of included patients were assessed. A comparative analysis of two groups was carried out depending on the type of catheter used. Dynamics of office systolic blood pressure (SBP) were assessed as ∆ between the two following timepoints: at screening and at hospital discharge. The safety of radiofrequency RD was assessed. Multiple linear regression was used to determine the factors associated with the ∆ of office SBP after radiofrequency RD.Results. A total of 48 patients taking 4 (4;6) antihypertensive drugs were sequentially included. Radiofrequency RD was performed with a balloon-type catheter in 27 patients (mean age, 56±12 years old; 12 males) and with a spiral-type catheter in 21 patients (50±14 years old; 8 males). Radiofrequency RD was significantly longer in the spiral catheter group than in balloon one (110 versus 60 minutes, p<0,001), as was the mean number of RF applications (24 versus 12, p=0,002). None of the patients had acute kidney injury after RD (creatinine ∆, -0,6 µmol/L; 95% CI [-3,97; 2,78]). A total of 4 patients had complications (3 femoral arterial pseudoaneurisms, one renal arterial dissection), all of which did not affect the average length of hospital stay (from 4 to 5 days). At discharge, there was a pronounced decrease in office SBP (adjusted for baseline characteristics) with the mean of -26 mm Hg (95% CI [-29; -23]). There were following main factors associated with the office SBP ∆: smoking status (positive), baseline office SBP (positive), and blood glucose (negative).Conclusion. Radiofrequency RD using multielectode catheters is characterized by favorable short-term hemodynamic effects. We have found novel potential predictors of these effects. Further research will focus on testing initial hypotheses in the long term.