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Sunday 12 April 2009

Surgical treatment 'can cure high blood pressure'

A surgical treatment for high blood pressure could cure millions of sufferers without the need for powerful drugs.The operation appears to permanently alleviate the chronic condition, which affects about a third of all adults in the UK and is a major cause of strokes and heart attacks.

It works by destroying bundles of nerves that line the artery supplying blood to the kidneys. In some people these nerves are thought to encourage the kidneys to retain salt, which contributes to high blood pressure.Doctors have developed a technique to blast the nerves with concentrated radiowaves to stop them from working.Clinicians found this had an almost immediate effect in lowering blood pressure. The effects were still apparent in patients 12 months later.

Most of the 50 patients in the Australian trial had dangerously high blood pressure but multiple drugs to control their condition had not worked.Experts claim that if further trials are as successful, most patients could benefit from the operation, known as radio frequency ablation and reported in The Lancet. It could be available in two years. (Source: Daily Mail)