A new technique to treat high blood pressure

A feasibility study of endoscopic ultrasound-guided ablation as a non-surgical, adrenal-sparing treatment for aldosterone-producing adenomas

Professor Morris Brown and his team at Queen Mary, University of London, are investigating if a new technique could cure some people of their high blood pressure. High blood pressure, or hypertension, can lead to strokes and heart attacks. While most people need long-term treatment using medicines, sometimes high blood pressure can be cured. The most common curable cause of high blood pressure is a benign growth or nodule, called an adenoma, in the adrenal gland. The adenoma produces a hormone that causes high blood pressure, but few people have surgery to cure this. A new technique has been developed, which uses an electric current to remove the nodule, without affecting the rest of the adrenal gland. Now, BHF funding has enabled Professor Brown to use an imaging technique, called a PET CT scan, to diagnose a type of adrenal adenoma. Once the diagnosis is made, doctors use an endoscope (a small camera on the end of a flexible tube) to guide a wire to the adrenal gland and remove the nodule. In this project, Professor Brown aims to confirm that this technique cures the hormone abnormality that raises blood pressure, and will work out the smallest amount of current needed to remove the nodule. This work will also determine the side effects of this procedure, and that it is safe. This research could reveal a new way to transform high blood pressure treatment in some patients using a quick, 30 minute procedure.