Pacemaker-Based Cardiac Neuromodulation Therapy in Patients With Hypertension: A Pilot Study

Device's design and clinical perspectives for resistant hypertension therapy

Introduction

Hypertension is the leading cause of death in the cardiovascular system. Indeed, untreated hypertension can affect one's general health, but medicine can help hypertensive people reduce their chance of developing high blood pressure. However, secondary hypertension remains an unresolved illness.

Areas covered

This review will go through the typical and unusual device-based therapies for resistant hypertension that have arisen in recent years. Further to that, the innovations developed in device-based RH treatment will be covered, as well as the research and studies assessing these novel technologies.

Expert opinion

The innovative device-based techniques that target resistant hypertension provide a potential therapy that has been backed by a number of studies and clinical trials, whereas pharmacological non-adherence and increased sympathetic activity are recognized to be the primary causes of resistant hypertension. Nevertheless, some limitations will be critical for the future of these RH systems, with the device's design and larger RCTs playing a significant role in determining whether a position in routine treatment could be warranted.

Device-Based Therapy for Resistant Hypertension: An Up-to-Date Review

Hypertension is the major risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Matter of fact, untreated hypertension can worsen the overall health, whereas pharmacotherapy can play an important role in lowering the risk of high blood pressure in hypertensive patients. However, persistent uncontrolled hypertension remains an unsolved condition characterized by non-adherence to medication and increased sympathetic activity. This paper will review the non-pharmacological treatments for resistant hypertension (RH) that have emerged in recent years. In addition, the technologies developed in device-based RH therapy, as well as the clinical trials that support their use, will be discussed. Indeed, the novel device-based approaches that target RH present a promising therapy which has been supported by several studies and clinical trials, whereas drug non-adherence and high sympathetic activity are known to be the main causes of RH. Nevertheless, some additional aspects of these RH systems need to be tested in the near future, with a particular focus on the device’s design and availability of randomized controlled trials.

A system of real-time neural recording and stimulation and its potential application in blood pressure modulation

Hypertension is one of the most prevalent chronic diseases that affects more than 20% of the adult population worldwide, but fortunately, most of their blood pressure can be effectively controlled via drug treatment. However, there still remains 5–30% of patients clinically who do not respond well to conventional medication, while the non-drug treatments currently existing are struggling with major drawbacks like irreversible nerve damage, huge side effects, and even non-effectiveness. In this study, based on the physiological regulation mechanism of blood pressure and state-of-the-art neuromodulation technique, we worked along with the vagus nerve stimulation scheme, developed, and explored whether and how a real-time neural recording and stimulation system could provide an insight into self-adaptive modulation in the blood pressure, in the hope to crack a crevice in the closed-loop treatment for resistant hypertension. Unlike traditional neuromodulation devices, additional signal recording and real-time wireless transmission functions are added to the same device to realize the features of a dynamic monitor and modulator. The system is tested both in vitro and in vivo, showing decent electrical performance of 8 kHz sampling rate and flexible stimulation outputs which sufficiently covers our needs in manipulating neural activities of interest. A relatively stable drop in the blood pressure resulting from stimulation was observed and specific patterns in the vagus nerve signals relating to blood pressure could also be primarily identified. This laid a solid foundation for further studies on the final realization of closed-loop automatic adjustment for resistive hypertension treatment.

Clinical Trial Design Principles and Outcomes Definitions for Device-Based Therapies for Hypertension: A Consensus Document From the Hypertension Academic Research Consortium

The clinical implications of hypertension in addition to a high prevalence of both uncontrolled blood pressure and medication nonadherence promote interest in developing device-based approaches to hypertension treatment. The expansion of device-based therapies and ongoing clinical trials underscores the need for consistency in trial design, conduct, and definitions of clinical study elements to permit trial comparability and data poolability. Standardizing methods of blood pressure assessment, effectiveness measures beyond blood pressure alone, and safety outcomes are paramount. The Hypertension Academic Research Consortium (HARC) document represents an integration of evolving evidence and consensus opinion among leading experts in cardiovascular medicine and hypertension research with regulatory perspectives on clinical trial design and methodology. The HARC document integrates the collective information among device-based therapies for hypertension to better address existing challenges and identify unmet needs for technologies proposed to treat the world’s leading cause of death and disability. Consistent with the Academic Research Consortium charter, this document proposes pragmatic consensus clinical design principles and outcomes definitions for studies aimed at evaluating device-based hypertension therapies.