With nearly 25 per cent of Canadians living with high blood pressure, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre is using a new minimally invasive procedure to help patients reduce their risk of heart attack and stroke.

About a third of those with high blood pressure have ‘uncontrolled hypertension’, a condition in which high blood pressure levels continue despite treatment. Renal denervation is a minimally invasive therapy to safely and effectively reduce blood pressure in patients with uncontrolled hypertension.

The Sunnybrook team uses radio-frequency heat energy, delivered by a catheter, to disrupt electrical signals travelling to and from the kidneys through the renal nerves. Renal nerves help to regulate blood pressure by influencing kidney function; reducing their activity causes blood pressure to lower and become stable in most patients.

“Our first line of treatment if you have high blood pressure is always lifestyle changes, like weight reduction, more physical activity and decreasing alcohol and sodium, in addition to medications,” explains Dr. Mina Madan, interventional cardiologist and medical director of the cardiac catheterization laboratory for Sunnybrook’s Schulich Heart Program. “When this course of action doesn’t sufficiently lower your blood pressure, renal denervation is proving to be an excellent option and a new addition to the toolkit for lowering uncontrolled high blood pressure. In our experience, it has been a safe and effective approach for most patients.”

Since beginning the program in 2023, Dr. Madan and her multidisciplinary team have selected patients with resistant blood pressure who have been taking at least two or three medications to control their blood pressure without success. Following the one-to-two-hour procedure, patients remain in hospital overnight.

To date, 11 patients have been treated, with catheters obtained with support from generous donors to the New Device & Practice Fund at the Sunnybrook Foundation.

“Uncontrolled high blood pressure is one of the leading risk factors for heart disease and premature death. Renal denervation offers a great option for so many who have been taking prescribed medication and it’s just not working,” adds Dr. Madan. “This has the potential to impact thousands of lives in Canada.”