Nearly half of all U.S. adults – a whopping 120 million – have high blood pressure, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC found that in 2024, high blood pressure was the primary or contributing cause of more than 680,000 deaths nationwide. Additional findings show only one in four adults diagnosed have their blood pressure under control.
What about the other 75%?
Many adults with high blood pressure do not have it under control, putting them at a higher risk of heart disease and stroke. A new process – Symplicity™ Blood Pressure Procedure – is “making waves as the only interventional approach using a single catheter and radio frequency energy to help lower blood pressure,” according to medtronic.com.
The procedure was approved by the FDA in 2023.
South Jersey doctors are piloting the program, and local residents like the borough’s Yazmin R have experienced a wide ranges of success.
“I had high blood pressure for several years, and (my doctors) tried different medicines, weight loss, but the pressure would not go down,” Yazmin acknowledged.
That’s when her primary physicians referred her to Dr. Kintur Sanghvi, the first South Jersey physician to explore the use of the Symplicity™ Blood Pressure Procedure.
Patients whose blood pressure is difficult to control may actually have an overactive sympathetic nervous system that drives the body’s “fight-or-flight” response, increases heart rate, and dilates airways. The new procedure aims to suppress the elevation that occurs in these moments.
Yazmin underwent the procedure in 2024, and her pressure was reduced by 30 points in the first six months. She can now be more active with her children and a grandchild, her migraines have decreased, her energy levels have increased and her medications have decreased by 50%.
The past two years have not been considered recovery because Yazmin’s doctors made the process so comfortable. While the procedure is based on whether a patient is a good candidate, Yazmin advises anyone with out-of-control blood pressure to learn what options are available for a better quality of life.
Her goals have always remained the same: enjoy being with her family and having fun. Yazmin feels she’s investing in herself long term and giving herself a new license on life. Her words of advice to others experiencing high blood pressure?
“If anyone has the opportunity to take advantage of (the Symplicity™ Blood Pressure Procedure) do it! You won’t regret it.”
