Publications by authors named "Shirley Alvarez"
Background: Transcatheter renal denervation (RDN) remains inconsistent despite developments in ablation technologies, due to the lack of an intraprocedural physiological end point.
Objective: To identify whether aorticorenal ganglion (ARG) guided RDN using microwave (MW) catheter leads to more consistent denervation outcomes compared with empirical MW ablation.
Methods: Pigs underwent sham procedure (n=8) or bilateral RDN using an in-house built open-irrigated MW catheter.
Background: Transcatheter renal denervation (RDN) has had inconsistent efficacy and concerns for durability of denervation. We aimed to investigate long-term safety and efficacy of transcatheter microwave RDN in vivo in normotensive sheep in comparison to conventional radiofrequency ablation.
Methods And Results: Sheep underwent bilateral RDN, receiving 1 to 2 microwave ablations (maximum power of 80-120 W for 240 s-480 s) and 12 to 16 radiofrequency ablations (180 s-240 s) in the main renal artery in a paired fashion, alternating the side of treatment, euthanized at 2 weeks (acute N=15) or 5.
Article Synopsis
- The study aimed to create a reliable method for assessing renal sympathetic nerve function by targeting the aorticorenal ganglia (ARG).
- It highlighted challenges in current renal denervation procedures, which often do not fully achieve their intended effects due to a lack of clear physiological endpoints.
- The results showed that high-frequency pacing could successfully identify effective capture sites for renal denervation, leading to significant changes in blood pressure and renal artery diameter, indicating that this technique could serve as a useful guiding tool for such procedures.
Background: Clinical studies of transcatheter radiofrequency renal denervation for treating hypertension have been hampered by the lack of consistent denervation efficacy. We aimed to demonstrate the short-term efficacy and safety of transcatheter microwave renal denervation.
Methods: A novel 7F microwave system was validated in a sheep model of unilateral renal denervation.