Novant Health offers renal denervation procedure for patients with difficult-to-control high blood pressure

WILMINGTON, N.C. — A procedure gaining attention at Novant Health is offering new hope for patients living with high blood pressure.

Renal denervation, or RDN, is a minimally invasive treatment that uses a catheter inserted into the renal arteries to target overactive nerves that can contribute to high blood pressure.

Doctors say the procedure helps reduce the nerve signals that can keep blood pressure elevated because it is minimally invasive.

Following the procedure, patients often experience a quick recovery and may spend only a day in the hospital.

Dr. Brian Kelly, an interventional cardiologist with Novant Health, said advances in technology have helped make the procedure increasingly successful.

“It is viewed as a game changer for helping us with folks who have resistant hypertension that’s very difficult to treat,” Kelly said. “It’s growing across the state and the country, if not the world, in terms of the number of procedures that are being done.”

Novant Health says patients interested in learning more about the procedure or finding out whether they may qualify can visit its website and search for “Advanced Treatment for Hypertension.”