Renal Denervation and Heart Failure

Renal denervation has been developed in order to lower systolic blood pressure in resistant hypertension by a reduction in renal afferent and efferent sympathetic nerve activity. In heart failure sympathetic activation, in particular, renal norepinephrine release is closely associated with morbidity and mortality. Initial studies have shown that renal denervation is able to reduce not only blood pressure but also heart rate, and is associated with a reduction in myocardial hypertrophy, improved glucose tolerance, and ameliorated microalbuminuria. Since some experimental and observational data suggest an antiarrhythmic effect, it is possible that renal denervation might also play a therapeutic role in arrhythmias often occurring in chronic heart failure. The first proof-of-concept studies are planned to evaluate the clinical effect of this pathophysiologically plausible method, which might be able to change clinical practice.