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Date
August 1, 2016
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Phone
Mike Ferrari
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News Release
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UH Case Medical Center treats first patient in the world
on international clinical trial for hypertension
Part of international study that will enroll 292 patients
CLEVELAND – University Hospitals Case Medical Center is the first site in the world to
use a promising new technology for patients with high blood pressure. Led by Sahil
Parikh, MD, the team performed the first procedure on a patient in RADIANCE-HTN, an
international clinical trial evaluating the effect of the ReCor Paradise® Renal
Denervation System on lowering blood pressure in patients with hypertension.
The new minimally invasive therapy was developed by ReCor Medical, Inc. to treat
overactive nerves leading to the kidney, a process called renal denervation. RADIANCEHTN uses high-intensity ultrasound energy (heat waves) aimed at decreasing the overactivity of these nerves, thereby lowering blood pressure.
“There is strong scientific rationale for this study to evaluate renal denervation as a
treatment for hypertension,” says Dr. Parikh, interventional cardiologist at UH Harrington
Heart & Vascular Institute. “This may be a transformative trial if this treatment is found to
help patients who have not been able to control their blood pressure and are therefore at
extremely high risk for heart attack, stroke and kidney failure.”
The new catheter-based technology uniquely delivers the ultrasound energy
circumferentially to target the nerves. Disruption of the renal nerves has been shown in
previous studies to prevent, delay or reduce the magnitude of hypertension.
RADIANCE-HTN is a blinded, randomized, sham-controlled trial designed to evaluate
the blood pressure lowering effect of the Paradise System in two patient populations:
patients currently uncontrolled on three or more blood pressure medications (termed
“resistant hypertension”) and in participants taking two or fewer blood pressure
medications to manage their blood pressure. In the study, half the participants will
receive the ultrasound therapy and half the patients will not receive ultrasound
treatment; Patients will not know which treatment they receive.
The study is enrolling people between the ages of 18-75 with hypertension that may or
may not be controlled with medication. UH is among 40 investigational sites in the US,
UK, France, Germany and The Netherlands.
Hypertension is a major public health issue and one of the leading contributors to death
from cardiovascular causes in the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) projects
more than 1 billion people worldwide have high blood pressure. Despite lifestyle
modification and use of multiple antihypertensive medications, roughly 50% of patients
do not meet blood pressure goals. Uncontrolled hypertension is associated with severe
consequences, including heart attack, stroke, and heart failure, among others.
“Many patients struggle to control their blood pressure on medication,” says Dr. Parikh,
who is also Assistant Professor of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University School
of Medicine and director of the UH Harrington Heart and Vascular Institute Center for
Research and Innovation. “We are pleased to participate in this important study
evaluating if this new technology can become a treatment option for the millions of
patients with hypertension.”
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About University Hospitals
Founded in May 1866, University Hospitals serves the needs of patients through an integrated
network of 18 hospitals, more than 40 outpatient health centers and primary care physician
offices in 15 counties throughout Northeast Ohio. At the core of our $4 billion health system is
University Hospitals Case Medical Center, ranked among America’s best hospitals by U.S. News
& World Report. The primary affiliate of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine,
UH Case Medical Center is home to some of the most prestigious clinical and research programs
in the nation, including cancer, pediatrics, women's health, orthopedics, radiology, neuroscience,
cardiology and cardiovascular surgery, digestive health, transplantation and genetics. Its main
campus includes UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital, ranked among the top children’s
hospitals in the nation; UH MacDonald Women's Hospital, Ohio's only hospital for women; and
UH Seidman Cancer Center, part of the NCI-designated Case Comprehensive Cancer Center at
Case Western Reserve University. UH is the second largest employer in Northeast Ohio with
26,000 employees. For more information, go to www.UHhospitals.org.