Houston VA Turns Down the Volume on High Blood Pressure

For the Veterans who walk through Houston VA’s doors, many carrying decades of service and the wear-and-tear that comes with it, this is one more way VA is fighting for their long-term health.

Here’s the trick: tucked near your kidneys are nerves that can get a little too chatty, sending signals that crank blood pressure up. The Symplicity Spyral™ system sends a thin tube up to those nerves, delivers a quick burst of energy to quiet them down, then slips right back out. No implant, no permanent hardware…just calmer nerves and, hopefully, calmer blood pressure, working around the clock.

That “always on” part matters, especially for Veterans juggling busy lives and imperfect routines. Hypertension is sneaky: it’s the number one contributor to death nationwide, touches roughly half of U.S. adults, and even among people who know they have it, about 80% still can’t get it under control with meds and lifestyle changes alone. That’s exactly the gap this procedure is designed to fill…not a replacement for diet, exercise, or medication, but a powerful assist when those aren’t cutting it.

“Houston VA is pleased to be able to offer renal denervation to select Veterans with resistant hypertension,” said Dr. Glenn Levine, chief of cardiology.   “High blood pressure (hypertension) forces blood to push too hard against artery walls. Over time, this damages organs throughout the body and can cause heart failure, kidney failure and strokes. Controlling blood pressure is critical to our Veterans’ overall health.”

The honor of performing Houston VA’s first-ever renal denervation case went to Dr. Jing Liu and the Houston VA Cath Lab team, who are committed to caring for Veterans with the latest and greatest technology available.  We thank our amazing Cath Lab team for bringing this new weapon into the fight against hypertension…one more way Houston VA is keeping Veterans’ hearts, and futures, healthy.