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Posted on 12/27/2009 5:06:51 AM PST by poobear
A revolutionary new operation which could effectively cure high blood pressure has been developed by scientists, offering hope to hundreds of thousands of sufferers.
In what is being hailed as the most exciting development in the field for 50 years, doctors can treat the condition with a simple procedure in under an hour.
It could allow some sufferers to come off medication completely and offer hope for those for whom existing treatments have no effect.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
What say you medical/science FReepers?
First off, I don’t remember from my anatomy class any nerve that runs from the kidneys to the brain. Kidneys make a bunch of things that get in the blood, but no nerves.
Who would have connected going through the buttocks to signal the brain, but whatever works.
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OK, it is sympathetic deafferantation. Very different from “nerve than nerve from kidney to brain” but quite the opposite. Sympathectomy has been around for a long time.
Me neither. Just quoting from the editorial. Maybe this is some type of hype coming from the NHS to try and get folks off lifetime medications.
There is a poster called neverdim (spelling) I’d like to ping but can’t find the right spelling for his/her screen name.
I’ll have to look that one up. Again, just quoting from the synopsis of the author’s editorial.
The Kidneys are instrumental in high BP as they put dye in and photograph your kidneys early on in the diagnostic process.
So I wouldn't run out to be the first in line for this procedure :)
Interesting, but it still does not get to the root cause. Why does the brain "signal" for raising the BP above what should be normal? It's like a thermostat is set too high, but this procedure rather than turning down the thermostat, cuts some of the wiring to the "furnace".
There you are.
neverdem
I tend to agree with you. Why does the body tell itself to elevate BP? Got diagnosed 3 months ago with severe hypertension 190/110. I’m talking the stroke zone. I’m on meds and have it at 155/85. Hate the side effects though.
ping
What’s your take on this procedure?
Thank you.
A number of things can cause high blood pressure. For example, sleep apnea. The struggle to obtain oxygen during sleep causes the body to increase BP. The problem is that if apnea is left untreated for a long period of time, the body BP will reset the normal level to the higher “new” normal. The problem is that the body does not reset back to the old / correct pressure even when the sleep apnea has been corrected.
Well, if this is the answer it should be vigorously pursued. HBP is a dangerous condition and generally speaking the lower the better. A question that comes to mind is when the body needs higher blood pressure such as in a dangerous condition to take immediate steps to save one’s life or another isn’t it natural that the adrenalin pumped into the system naturally elevates blood pressure? Is that unaffected?
I had a severe attack of HBP sometime ago that affected the retina in my eye and it was at stroke level. I simply pushed myself to hard and knew something was not right and took my BP and nearly had a stroke looking at the measurements.
Long story short, I now have completely normal blood pressure of about 115/70 but I have to take an ace inhibitor and a calcium channel blocker and of course exercise and weight control is important as well.
Ideally the blood pressure should be about 110/70 and the “pulse” pressure about 40. In older people the diastolic number actually may be more important than the lower number; the systolic which is commonly thought to be the most important.
Get a good automatic blood pressure machine and take several readings throughout the day. And get it under control and if your regular physician doesn’t take it seriously then consider a hypertension specialist. Don’t ignore this problem; it can kill you or severely limit your lifespan or at the very least weaken your heart which may make your life miserable in your last years.
But will this appear on Obamacare’s LOAP (List of Approved Procedures)?
Interesting. I thought I had dirt in my eyes and went to a walk in clinic three months ago. There I had to sign a release when my HBP was discovered. A specialist at the Retina Institute diagnosed two torn retinas. They are healing and my sight is fine but he warned me to go seek a GP and get meds immediately.
He did not correlate the torn retinas with my HBP though. Now when my pressure is up those little floaters in my eyes dance wildly!
Sympathectomy is not a revolutionary procedure. In fact, benefits for other conditions have been limitted by the fact that the nerve fibers tend to regrow rather quickly.
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