St. Jude Renal Denervation Study Shows Promise

Officials at St. Jude announce that the company's renal denervation system lowered blood pressure at six months.

Targeting nerves in the renal arteries leading to the kidneys, the EnligHTN I study helped patients reduce their blood pressure 28 mmHg points after 30 days. That rate was kept up after six months, according to studies. Seventy-six percent of patients responded to the therapy, with blood pressure dropping from an average of 176/96 mmHg to 150/86 mmHg. No serious problems with the device or therapy were reported.

The EngligHTN system disrupts a network of nerves that controls blood pressure, a process which has been found to reduce systolic and diastolic blood pressure, according to the Star Tribune in Minnesota.