New options for stubborn hypertension

As many as 15 percent of all patients with hypertension fail to respond to drug treatment, but German researchers say new options are available. Felix Mahfoud of the Faculty of Medicine Saarland University and colleagues said an interdisciplinary strategy is necessary for the successful treatment of resistant arterial hypertension. "Drug treatment must be tailored to the individual patient and reversible or secondary causes of hypertension must be systematically sought and treated," the researchers said in the study. "The important non-pharmacological conservative treatment measures include optimization of weight, a low-salt diet, physical exercise, and abstinence from alcohol." Minimally invasive renal denervation and baroreceptor stimulation are two alternative treatment options for selected patients with resistant arterial hypertension, the researchers said. Renal sympathetic denervation is an interventional procedure with a low rate of complications that can bring about a significant and enduring reduction in blood pressure, Mahfoud said. The findings are published in Deutsches Arzteblatt International.