For the millions of people with hypertension, the condition feels like a ticking time bomb. Those who have it can struggle to keep it under control, even with medication.
Now, D.C.-area doctors are trying a new approach on their toughest-to-treat patients. It's even helping medical professionals who have hypertension -- like Robert Fontana, who worked as a physician assistant for 40 years.
"Being a health care professional, I know the risk I have with hypertension," Fontana said.
Nearly half of all Americans struggle with high blood pressure, defined as readings of 130 over 80 and higher. Left untreated, it can lead to a heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, or death.
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"I've been on medication for better than 30 years," Fontana said. "Most recently, I had gone up to three different medications to control my hypertension and increasing dosage."
The Fairfax Station father says each medication brought different side effects, and nothing brought relief. That's when he heard of a new, minimally-invasive FDA-approved treatment that could safely fight his resistant hypertension.
During the procedure, called ultrasound renal denervation, a doctor threads a catheter through blood vessels in the groin up to the kidneys. Ultrasound-guided energy and heat is then used to zap the overactive nerves surrounding the renal arteries, which fuel rising blood pressure.
"This procedure can be done in a short period of time with durable results," said Dr. Benham Tehrani, a cardiologist at INOVA Schar Heart and Vascular who performed the procedure on Fontana.
"We usually expect the patients to have at least an 8 to 10 point reduction in the ambulatory blood pressure," Tehrani said. "Simply just a five point reduction of blood pressure, for example, is associated with a 27% reduction in stroke, 25% reduction in heart failure, 15% reduction in chronic kidney disease, and at least a 15% reduction in death. So we aim to achieve that and higher. Our goal is to see if we are able to wean patients off of medications."
The treatment itself takes less than an hour, and patients return home the same day.
Fontana was among the first in the D.C. area to undergo the procedure, and says his numbers are now down to normal levels and he's hoping to cut back on the number of medications he's taking.
"The short term goal is my numbers are down," Fontana said. "The long term goal would be I could not only reduce but maybe eliminate some of the medications I take for hypertension."
Pilot studies showed few side effects from the treatment, which is typically covered by private insurance and Medicare with a prior authorization. To undergo the procedure, patients have to meet certain criteria, including having resistant hypertension, and take three or more different medications.
"It's a lifetime benefit," Fontana said. "It's kind of paying forward for more healthier years to come."
