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A revolutionary new operation which could effectively cure high blood pressure has been developed by scientists, offering hope to hundreds of thousands of sufferers.
In what is being hailed as the most exciting development in the field for 50 years, doctors can treat the condition with a simple procedure in under an hour. It could allow some sufferers to come off medication completely and offer hope for those for whom existing treatments have no effect.
The technique, which is relatively straightforward and cheap for the NHS, could reduce the risk of a major heart attack or stroke in such patients by half.
It is part of an international clinical trial which could lead to the new treatment being offered on the NHS. An estimated 15 million people in Britain suffer from high blood pressure, also known as hypertension - around half of them undiagnosed.
About one in 10 sufferers cannot control the condition with medication or cannot tolerate the drugs, leaving them at greater risk. Hundreds of thousands face a lifetime on medication to reduce the risk of suffering heart disease, strokes or kidney failure.
Dr Mel Lobo, a specialist in clinical hypertension at Barts and the London NHS Trust, said: "This is the most exciting development in hypertension since the advent of anti-hypertensive medication 50 years ago. “It is hard to forecast the limitations and it could eventually be compared to medication.”
The new procedure, called renal sympathetic-nerve ablation, involves inserting a wire into a blood vessel close to the kidneys to burn through nerves which carry signals that stimulate high blood pressure. It disrupts signals from the brain telling the kidneys to keep blood pressure raised. Initial tests suggest it can be effective within three months.
Anthony Henry, 68, a retired chef from Stratford in East London, became the first person in Britain to have the operation.
In what is being hailed as the most exciting development in the field for 50 years, doctors can treat the condition with a simple procedure in under an hour. It could allow some sufferers to come off medication completely and offer hope for those for whom existing treatments have no effect.
The technique, which is relatively straightforward and cheap for the NHS, could reduce the risk of a major heart attack or stroke in such patients by half.
It is part of an international clinical trial which could lead to the new treatment being offered on the NHS. An estimated 15 million people in Britain suffer from high blood pressure, also known as hypertension - around half of them undiagnosed.
About one in 10 sufferers cannot control the condition with medication or cannot tolerate the drugs, leaving them at greater risk. Hundreds of thousands face a lifetime on medication to reduce the risk of suffering heart disease, strokes or kidney failure.
Dr Mel Lobo, a specialist in clinical hypertension at Barts and the London NHS Trust, said: "This is the most exciting development in hypertension since the advent of anti-hypertensive medication 50 years ago. “It is hard to forecast the limitations and it could eventually be compared to medication.”
The new procedure, called renal sympathetic-nerve ablation, involves inserting a wire into a blood vessel close to the kidneys to burn through nerves which carry signals that stimulate high blood pressure. It disrupts signals from the brain telling the kidneys to keep blood pressure raised. Initial tests suggest it can be effective within three months.
Anthony Henry, 68, a retired chef from Stratford in East London, became the first person in Britain to have the operation.
