Tampa General Hospital Employs New Ultrasound Therapy Designed to Treat Life-Threatening Hypertension

The hospital is the first in the area to use a new FDA-approved device for patients suffering from uncontrolled high blood pressure.

TAMPA, Fla., March 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Doctors with the Tampa General Hospital (TGH) Heart & Vascular Institute are the first in the region to use an innovative new technology to control hypertension or uncontrolled high blood pressure. The Paradise Ultrasound Renal Denervation (RDN) System by Recor Medical uses ultrasound energy to ablate the renal nerves and lower blood pressure. The procedure is minimally invasive and may be performed in an outpatient setting, allowing most patients to go home the same day.

If the procedure becomes a common therapy, experts say, it could help reduce diagnoses of high blood pressure, which directly or indirectly kills about 700,000 Americans each year.

"This is an exciting weapon in the war against the disease,'' said Dr. Fadi Matar, Cardiac Cath Lab Medical Director & Cardiology Section Chief at TGH, and associate professor and interim director of the Division of Cardiovascular Sciences at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. "It's critical to bring it under control, and this technology offers a novel way to treat it.''

Patients with life-threatening – or resistant − hypertension that can't be controlled by traditional therapies are candidates for the FDA-approved procedure. It uses ultrasound to deliver a 360-degree ring of energy, reaching about 80 percent of the sympathetic nerves around the renal arteries. This ablation reduces the overactivity that can lead to hypertension. A hydro-cooling balloon circulates sterile water during the procedure, which protects the arterial wall.

Under ordinary circumstances, blood pressure normally rises and falls throughout the day, but it can damage your heart and cause other health problems if spiked for long periods, resulting in hypertension. Nearly half of adults suffer from this condition, but only 1 in 4 have it under control, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC).

"So, if we can help change the course of hypertension, we can help change the course of coronary diseases that can lead to strokes and heart attacks,'' added Matar, who also serves as Interventional Heart Failure Program Director, TGH Heart & Vascular Institute.

Facts about high blood pressure, according to the CDC:

• Having hypertension puts you at risk for heart disease and stroke, which are leading causes of death in the United States.
• In 2021, hypertension was a primary or contributing cause of 691,095 deaths in the United States.
• Nearly half of adults have hypertension (48.1%, 119.9 million), defined as a systolic, or upper, blood pressure measuring greater than 130 mmHg or a diastolic, or lower, blood pressure measuring greater than 80 mmHg or are taking medication for hypertension.
• About half of adults (45%) with uncontrolled hypertension have a blood pressure of 140/90 mmHg or higher. This includes 37 million U.S. adults. 
• About 34 million adults who are recommended to take medication may need it to be prescribed and to start taking it. Almost 2 out of 3 of this group (19 million) have a blood pressure of 140/90 mmHg or higher.
• High blood pressure costs the United States about $131 billion each year, averaged over 12 years from 2003 to 2014.

Learn more about the TGH Heart & Vascular Institute at https://www.tgh.org/institutes-and-services/heart-and-vascular-institute.

ABOUT TAMPA GENERAL HOSPITAL
Tampa General Hospital, a 981-bed, not-for-profit, academic health system, is one of the largest hospitals in America and delivers world-class care as the region's only center for Level l trauma and comprehensive burn care. Tampa General Hospital is the highest-ranked hospital in the market in U.S. News and World Report's 2023-24 Best Hospitals, with six specialties ranking among the top 50 best hospital programs in the United States. Tampa General Hospital has been designated as a model of excellence by the 2022 Fortune/Merative 100 Top Hospitals list. The academic health system's commitment to growing and developing its team members is recognized by two prestigious Forbes magazine rankings – in the top 100 nationally in the 2023 America's Best Employers for Women and top 25 in Florida in the 2023 America's Best Employers by State. Tampa General is the safety net hospital for the region, caring for everyone regardless of their ability to pay, and in fiscal year 2021, provided a net community benefit of approximately $240.3 million in the form of health care for underinsured patients, community education, and financial support to community health organizations in Tampa Bay. It is one of the nation's busiest adult solid organ transplant centers and is the primary teaching hospital for the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. With six medical helicopters, Tampa General Hospital transports critically injured or ill patients from 23 surrounding counties to receive the advanced care they need. Tampa General houses a nationally accredited comprehensive stroke center, and its 32-bed Neuroscience, Intensive Care Unit is the largest on the West Coast of Florida. It also is home to the Jennifer Leigh Muma 82-bed neonatal intensive care unit, and a nationally accredited rehabilitation center. Tampa General Hospital's footprint includes TGH North which is comprised of three hospitals and several outpatient locations in Citrus and Hernando counties, 17 Tampa General Medical Group Primary Care offices, TGH Family Care Center Kennedy, TGH Outpatient Center, TGH Virtual Health, and 21 TGH Imaging outpatient radiology centers throughout Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas and Palm Beach counties. Tampa Bay area residents also receive world-class care from the TGH Urgent Care powered by Fast Track network of clinics. To see a medical care professional live anytime, anywhere on a smartphone, tablet or computer, visit Virtual Health | Tampa General Hospital (tgh.org).  As one of the largest hospitals in the country, Tampa General Hospital is the first in Florida to partner with GE Healthcare and open a clinical command center that provides real-time situational awareness to improve and better coordinate patient care at a lower cost. For more information, go to www.tgh.org.

ABOUT USF HEALTH
USF Health's mission is to envision and implement the future of health. It is the partnership of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, the College of Nursing, the College of Public Health, the Taneja College of Pharmacy, the School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences, the Biomedical Sciences Graduate and Postdoctoral Programs, and USF Health's multispecialty physicians' group. The University of South Florida is a high-impact global research university dedicated to student success. Over the past 10 years, no other public university in the country has risen faster in U.S. News & World Report's national university rankings than USF. For more information, visit health.usf.edu.

SOURCE Tampa General Hospital

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