Blood Pressure Control Device

[tobagotwo]

Anexcerpt from HeartWire, on theheart.org ( http://www.theheart.org/viewArticle.do?primaryKey=412479&nl_id=tho05apr05 ). To read the entire article, you will need to register with them.

A new device is being tried out to control blood pressure in a marriage of technology and nature. If my blood pressure gets up there, I hope I can get one of these, rather than try to limp through the day on seven BP meds, which the lady this was implanted in had been doing. With the meds, her BP was still 200/120. Once implanted, the device brought it down to 105/70:

Michael O'Riordan, Heartwire, Apr 4, 2005, Investigational blood-pressure-lowering device implanted in first US patient:

The implantation...is the first in the US, with only a handful having been done in Europe. Not unlike a pacemaker, the investigational device consists of an implantable pulse generator, placed near the collarbone, and carotid sinus leads. The system works by activating the baroreflex system in the carotid sinus. While not the cause of hypertension, pressure receptors within the carotid sinus of hypertensive patients often do not detect intravascular blood pressure, said Illig, and as a result, the autonomic response lowering heart rate, dilating blood vessels, and excreting more fluid is inadequate.

"The electrical stimulation works because even when the pressure receptors have failed, the nerve will still be firing, artificially, sending signals that blood pressure is too high," said Illig. "It's not exactly simulating pressure, but more a case of supplying low-level electrical current up those nerves to the brain, bypassing the receptors, to elicit a response that reduces blood pressure."

...The procedure is part of a feasibility study evaluating the Rheos system (CVRx, Maple Grove, MN), as the device is known commercially.

It's expensive and probably somewhat risky to have put in, but it's still in its infancy...

Best wishes,