Clinical predictors of improved long-term blood pressure control after successful stenting of hypertensive patients with obstructive renal artery atherosclerosis

Abstract

Despite a high procedural success rate, long-term blood pressure control after successful renal artery stenting of hypertensive patients has been inconsistent. This most likely reflects the absence of clinical guidelines for the selection of patients likely to benefit from renal revascularization. A cohort of 150 consecutive hypertensive patients (mean age, 66.7 years; 86 women) with 180 renal artery lesions (> or =75%) underwent primary Palmaz stent deployment. Mean arterial blood pressure (MAP), serum creatinine, and antihypertensive medication requirements were monitored prospectively. Specific definitions of blood pressure cure, improvement, or treatment failure were followed. Renal artery duplex Doppler or angiography was performed to assess stent patency at a mean 13 months (range, 7-15 months). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to select clinical variables that best related to a beneficial blood pressure control at follow-up. The procedural success rate was 97.3% (146 patients) and major in-laboratory complications were infrequent (1.3%). Late MAP values in 127 patients (91%) fell from 110 +/- 13.7 to 97.6 +/- 10.6 mm Hg (P < 0.001); antihypertensive medication requirements decreased from 2.9 +/- 1.2 to 1.9 +/- 1.1 (P < 0.01). The 13-month stent restenosis rate defined by duplex Doppler or angiography was 12%. Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified a preprocedure MAP of >110 mm Hg (odds ratio, 2.9; P = 0.003) and bilateral renal stenoses (odds ratio, 4.6; P = 0.009) as predictors of a beneficial blood pressure response at follow-up. This study provides general preprocedure guidelines for the selection of hypertensive patients with atherosclerotic renal lesions likely to benefit from primary Palmaz stenting and confirms a high procedural success and low stent restenosis rate.