Improvement in health-related quality of life after renal sympathetic denervation in real-world hypertensive patients: 12-month outcomes in the Global SYMPLICITY Registry

Renal denervation has been shown to reduce blood pressure in patients with uncontrolled hypertension, but less is known about its impact on quality of life. This analysis evaluated 12-month blood pressure and quality of life outcomes in 934 patients from the Global SYMPLICITY Registry who completed the EuroQoL five-dimensions three-level questionnaire (EQ-5D-3L). At baseline, 32% of patients reported anxiety/depression and 48% reported pain/discomfort. At 12months (n=496), office and 24-hour ambulatory systolic blood pressure were reduced by 13.9 +/- 26.6 and 7.7 +/- 19.3mmHg, respectively, and 8% (P<.001) more patients reported no problems in anxiety/depression. Furthermore, numerically more patients reported no problems in pain/discomfort (4%, P=.08). Perceived health-related quality of life (visual analog scale) improved from baseline to 12months (68 +/- 18 vs 73 +/- 17, P<.001), and the improvement was largest among patients with severe anxiety/depression at baseline (50 +/- 24 vs 64 +/- 22, P=.005 [n=32]). In this analysis, renal denervation was associated with a significant improvement in health-related quality of life, particularly anxiety/depression.