Key result
Candidates for renal denervation reported greater baseline concern about hypertension than patients on drugs alone, which decreased after RDN.
Why the study?
Hypertension awareness and treatment preferences among patients on medical therapy alone versus candidates for renal denervation, as well as changes in perceptions after renal denervation, required assessment.
Does renal denervation improve patient-reported awareness, anxiety, and perceived health in patients with hypertension compared to medical therapy alone?
Observational (n=150)
No
Does renal denervation improve patient-reported awareness, anxiety, and perceived health in patients with hypertension compared to medical therapy alone?
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Renal denervation significantly reduces patient anxiety and improves perceived health compared to baseline in patients with uncontrolled or resistant hypertension.
Objective: To assess hypertension awareness and treatment preferences among patients on medical therapy alone versus candidates for renal denervation (RDN), and to evaluate changes in perceptions after RDN.Design and method: Single-centre survey study (University Hospital of Verona, Italy). Two questionnaire versions were administered at baseline: one to hypertensive patients on drugs only (DRUGS group) and one to candidates for RDN (RDN group). Most items used a 7-point Likert scale. The RDN group repeated the survey at 6 months. Between-group comparisons used Mann-Whitney U test and chi-square test; changes after RDN were assessed with Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results: From 2021 to 2024, 150 patients were enrolled (DRUGS n=100; RDN n=50). Baseline age and sex were similar (median 64 years; male 69% vs 64%). Chronic kidney disease was more prevalent in the RDN group (62% vs 29%, p=0.0001), and antihypertensive drug burden was higher (median 4.5 vs 3.0 medications, p<0.001). Baseline office blood pressure was comparable (median systolic 145 vs 140 mmHg; median diastolic 80 vs 85 mmHg). At baseline, RDN candidates were more worried about being hypertensive (median 6.0 vs 4.5, p<0.001) and about developing kidney or heart failure (median 7.0 vs 5.0, p<0.001), and reported greater interference of drug therapy with daily life (median 5.0 vs 1.0, p<0.01). In the DRUGS group, awareness of RDN was limited (12%). After RDN, concern about being hypertensive decreased from 6 to 3 (p<0.01) and self-rated health improved from ’fair’ to ’good’ (p=0.004), while expectations to reduce medication burden remained high. Conclusions: Patients referred for RDN show higher baseline awareness of uncontrolled/resistant hypertension and greater dissatisfaction with medication burden than patients treated with drugs alone. After RDN, anxiety and perceived disease impact decrease while perceived health improves. These findings support structured physician-patient communication and shared decision-making to enhance hypertension awareness and adherence.
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Alessandro et al. (2026) conducted an observational in Hypertension (n=150). Renal denervation candidacy and procedure vs. Medical therapy alone was evaluated on Concern about being hypertensive (7-point Likert scale) (p=<0.01). Candidates for renal denervation reported greater baseline concern about hypertension than patients on drugs alone, which decreased after RDN.
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