The Official Journal of EuroPCR and the European Association of Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions (EAPCI)

Sympathetic nervous system activation in patients with heart failure is one of the main pathophysiologic mechanisms associated with the worse outcomes. Pharmacotherapies targeting neurohormonal activation have been at the center of heart failure management. Despite the advancement of therapies and the available treatments, heart failure continues to have an overall poor prognosis. Renal denervation was originally developed to lower systemic blood pressure in patients with poorly controlled hypertension, by modulating sympathetic outflow. However, more recently, multiple studies have investigated the effect of renal denervation in heart failure patients with both preserved (HFpEF) and reduced ejection fractions (HFrEF). This paper provides an overview of the potential effect of renal denervation in altering the various pathophysiologic, sympathetically mediated pathways that contribute to heart failure, and reviews the literature that supports its future use in those patients.

Background: Primary results of this prospective, open-label, multicenter trial suggested that alcohol-mediated renal denervation with perivascular injection of dehydrated alcohol using the Peregrine System Infusion Catheter safely reduces blood pressure (BP) in patients with resistant hypertension. To date, maintenance of the BP-lowering effect beyond 6 months using this novel technology has not been reported. This article describes the final, 12-month follow-up data on the safety and efficacy of alcohol-mediated renal denervation in these patients. Methods: Forty-five patients with resistant hypertension on a stable regimen of on average 5.1±1.5 antihypertensive medications underwent successful bilateral renal denervation using the Peregrine Catheter with alcohol as the neurolytic agent (0.6 mL per renal artery). Apart from 2 vascular access pseudoaneurysms (both without sequelae), no major procedural complications occurred. Results: At 12 months post-procedure, mean 24-hour ambulatory systolic and diastolic BP were reduced by 10 mm Hg (95% CI, −16 to −5) and 7 mm Hg (−10 to −3), respectively ( P <0.001). Office systolic/diastolic BP was reduced by 20/10 mm Hg (−27, −13/−14, −6; <0.001). Compared with baseline, the number of antihypertensive medications was reduced in 21% of patients, while it was increased in 19%. From baseline to 12 months, serum creatinine, urea, cystatin C, and spot urine albumin levels remained unchanged. The change in estimated glomerular filtration rates (−3.9±10.3 mL/minute per 1.73 m ² [95% CI, −7.1 to −0.75]; P =0.02) was within the expected range. There were no cases of renal artery stenosis up to 12-month follow-up. Conclusions: Catheter-based chemical renal denervation with dehydrated alcohol using the Peregrine Catheter seems to safely reduce BP at follow-up of up to 12 months. Further randomized and sham controlled studies are underway to further validate these findings. Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov ; Unique identifier: NCT02570113.