St. Jude launches device for treatment of hypertension

Hyderabad -  St. Jude Medical Inc. (STJ), a global medical device manufacturing company, Tuesday announced the launch of its 'EnligHTN' renal denervation system during the ongoing  EuroPCR 2012 in Paris.

Renal denervation is a specialized ablation procedure that has been clinically proven to reduce blood pressure in patients with hypertension, or high blood pressure, that is resistant to  medical therapy, said a statement from the company, which has its India office here.

Hypertension is the root cause of a variety of life-threatening health problems, including heart disease, stroke, and kidney failure. It impacts more than 1 billion people globally at an  estimated cost of $500 billion annually. About 25 percent of patients with hypertension do not respond adequately to conventional treatment with medication.

Using the EnligHTN system, an ablation catheter delivers radio frequency (RF) energy to create lesions (tiny scars) along the renal sympathetic nerves, a network of nerves that help to  regulate pressure; the intentional disruption of the nerve supply has been clinically found to decrease systolic blood pressure.

"St. Jude Medical is focused on improving patient care while reducing the economic burden of epidemic diseases, and our ground breaking EnligHTN renal denervation system is a great  example of that focus," said Frank Callaghan, president of the St. Jude Medical Cardiovascular Division.

Callaghan was speaking in Paris at the ongoing EuroPCR 2012 -- the official congress of the European Association of Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions.