[/caption]“This is an exciting finding, " one of the researchers pronounced about finding new treatment for controlling hard-to-control high blood pressure. The report has been published in the January 25, 2011, print
issue of Neurology®, the journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
A 55-year-old man received deep brain stimulation in order to treat his central pain syndrome. It was later found that the stimulation decreased his high blood pressure. That high blood pressure had been so difficult to control, he had been taking four drugs for it, and still it was not within normal ranges. He didn't get permanent relief from pain, but he did get relief from the high blood pressure.
Nikunj K. Patel, BSc, MBBS, MD, FRCS of Frenchay Hospital in Bristol, UK, wrote the case study and exclaimed,“This is an exciting finding as high blood
pressure affects millions of people and can lead to heart attack and
stroke, but for about one in 10 people, high blood pressure can’t be
controlled with medication or they cannot tolerate the medication."
But the deep brain stimulation still needs further evaluation, according to those involved in this study.
“More research is needed to confirm these results in
larger numbers of people, but this suggests that stimulation can produce
a large, sustained lowering of blood pressure,” Patel said. “With so
many people not responding to blood pressure medications, we are in need
of alternative strategies such as this one.”
Regulating high blood pressure is important. That's because of the risks associated with it that include, according to heart specialists, the following:
- Damage to the heart and coronary arteries,
including heart attack, heart disease, congestive heart failure, aortic
dissection and atherosclerosis (fatty buildups in the arteries that
cause them to harden) - Stroke
- Kidney damage
- Vision loss
- Erectile dysfunction
- Memory loss
- Fluid in the lungs
- Angina
