Renal Denervation vs Pharmacotherapy for Resistant Hypertension: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

The effect of renal denervation (RD) for resistant hypertension remains controversial because of the conflicting results of finished and ongoing studies. The authors performed a meta-analysis of case-control studies to identify whether renal sympathetic denervation or pharmacotherapy (PHAR) was more effective for resistant hypertension. A systematic Internet database search of relevant papers written in English was performed. A total of nine studies met the inclusion criteria, with a total of 1096 patients. When comparing the RD group with the PHAR group, there was a significant decrease in systolic blood pressure (SBP) (weighted mean difference, −12.81 mm Hg; 95% confidence interval [CI], −22.77 mm Hg to −2.85 mm Hg; P=.01) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) (weighted mean difference, −5.56; 95% CI, −8.15 mm Hg to −2.97 mm Hg; P