Warwickshire hospital recruits patients for trial treatment

UHCW Trust, which runs St Cross in Rugby, is partnering with Warwick Medical School and Heartlands Hospital in Bordesley Green, Birmingham, to

recruit patients to trial a one-hour treatment for the estimated 81 per cent of adults living with an increased risk of suffering a stroke or severe coronary event due to a severe form of high blood pressure not controlled with drug therapy.

The treatment is the subject of a randomised clinical trial known as WAVE IV.

In previous trials, three quarters of treated patients experienced a meaningful reduction in their blood pressure following the one-time, one-hour therapy.

Patients may be eligible to participate in the WAVE IV Clinical Study if:

> They are aged between 18 years of age and 90 years of age.

> Their systolic blood pressure (top number) is consistently greater than 160 mmHg when they see their doctor.

> They are currently taking 3 or more prescription medications for high blood pressure.

Watch a medical animation of the treatment hereFrancesco Cappuccio, Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at Warwick Medical School, Consultant at UHCW NHS Trust and Vice-President of the British Hypertension Society, said: “I am very excited to be contributing to the recruitment of patients with resistant hypertension onto the Wave IV trial

here at University Hospital in Coventry. Patients who are taking three or more medications for their high blood pressure may be eligible to join the trial, which will take place at Heartlands Hospital in Bordesley Green, Birmingham, under Principal Investigator, Dr Indranil Dasgupta.

“Patients who wish to be considered for the trial should contact Heartlands directly via Christine Laukam by telephoning 0121 424 2158.”

Dr Indranil Dasgupta, Consultant Nephrologist, the Principal Investigator of the Wave IV Trial at Heartlands Hospital, said: “Surround Sound therapy may target the renal nerves more accurately than catheter-based renal denervation – this may be why previous trials of renal denervation treatments have not been as effective as we hoped.

“Importantly, Surround Sound is unique in that it is also non-invasive which is important to patients – who wants to have a catheter placed in their groin? It also means they don’t have to be admitted to hospital and stay in overnight – unlike other similar treatments.

“For me as a doctor, it is a frustrating situation that I am not able to adequately treat a good proportion of my patients with resistant hypertension. The Surround Sound treatment has the potential to benefit many hundreds of thousands of patients and may well be what doctors like me have been waiting for, for many years.”

People in the Coventry or Warwickshire region able to travel to Heartlands Hospital who may meet these three criteria may consult their GP for referral to the study. 

To download a patient information brochure, visit: http://www.konamedical.com/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/patient-info.pdfFor information regarding all the clinical study sites, email: [email protected]Resistant hypertension is a severe type of high blood pressure and is defined by a lack of response to three or more drugs. Patients with resistant

hypertension may or may not have symptoms and have a significantly increased risk of dying of cardiovascular disease or stroke.

People with hypertension may have overactive renal (kidney) nerves, a condition that raises blood pressure and contributes to heart, kidney and

blood vessel damage. The Surround Sound® Hypertension Therapy System uses non-invasive ultrasound to treat hyperactive renal nerves (a technique called renal denervation (RDN).

This is intended to cause a reduction in the kidney’s production of hormones that raise blood pressure and may also protect the heart, kidneys and blood vessels from further damage.

The WAVE IV clinical trial is evaluating Surround Sound Hypertension Therapy for patients with severe resistant hypertension. Surround Sound is the only non-invasive renal denervation treatment for resistant hypertension of its type: other treatments rely on a catheter inside the body emitting

energy to treat the renal nerves, while Surround Sound® delivers ultrasound energy to the nerves from outside the body without any cutting or incisions.