December 14, 2012
Story by Greg Kennedy; photo by Cris Anderson
High blood pressure had been Ludwig Kusiak’s constant foe since the 1990s but his battle ended well when the Edmonton man underwent a revolutionary new procedure that dropped his numbers instantly.
“We had tried so many different pills; I’ve still got bottles and bottles of old pills if you want them,” says the businessman and engineer. “You keep trying until you find something effective — but for me, nothing was ever effective.”
What did prove successful for Kusiak is renal denervation, a groundbreaking medical procedure that offers new hope for people who suffer from chronic high blood pressure.
“My blood pressure was constantly spiking throughout the day and it was a terrible feeling,” adds Kusiak. “Within a few days of having the procedure, I was feeling much better and haven’t experienced any spikes.”
The CK Hui Heart Centre at the Royal Alexandra Hospital is the first facility in Western Canada to perform renal denervation, a minimally invasive operation designed to treat the most serious cases of chronic high blood pressure, also known as hypertension.
Research shows overactivity in the nerves along the renal arteries — the main blood supply to the kidneys — can lead to severe hypertension that responds poorly to conventional medications. Renal denervation is the process of using low-level radio frequency energy to deliberately neutralize selected nerves within the wall of the arteries of the kidneys to eliminate the root cause of the hypertension.
The first procedure was performed on Kusiak in early November by cardiologists Dr. Micha Dorsch and Dr. Keysun Ranjbar, along with their multidisciplinary team members: interventional radiologist Harnil Sidhu; Dr. Albert Yeung and Dr. Raj Padwal, who oversee the hypertension clinics at the Royal Alex and University of Alberta Hospital, respectively; and anesthesiologist Dr. Carolyn Hui.
“The results from renal denervation are very impressive,” says Ranjbar. “The magnitude of the drop in blood pressure has been greater than with multiple medications.”
More than 500,000 Albertans have been diagnosed with hypertension, which has long been branded a silent killer. Its sufferers often show no symptoms even as internal damage is being done. While many people manage to control hypertension through diet and lifestyle changes, the use of several drugs in combination to lower blood pressure is often needed yet fails to control blood pressure for some patients.
With renal denervation, it takes a single procedure to drastically reduce hypertension.
“Currently, renal denervation is reserved for the most difficult hypertension patients,” says Dr. Randall Williams, Chief of Cardiology at the CK Hui Heart Centre.
“Sometimes patients can be on up to six medications and not show satisfactory control. In extreme cases, uncontrolled hypertension can lead to heart attack or failure, kidney failure, stroke and blindness, which is why it needs to be controlled.”
To receive training in the new procedure, Dorsch and Ranjbar travelled to Germany, a country considered a world leader in renal denervation.
Although renal denervation is suitable for only five per cent of hypertension patients, the fact so many people suffer with high blood pressure means a significant number can still be helped.
The pilot of this renal denervation procedure is made possible through the Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation’s CK Hui Heart Centre Campaign. Community support helped raise $8 million, of which $5 million is designated for research and innovation funding.
“The Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation is committed to helping the CK Hui Heart Centre to advance cardiac patient care,” says Andrew Otway, President and CEO of the Foundation. “We're thrilled to know that our support is resulting in cutting-edge and life-saving treatments such as renal denervation becoming a reality.”
