Impacts of renal denervation on blood pressure in patients with obstructive sleep apnea

Sympathetic nerve activation followed by obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) accounts for blood pressure elevation. The effectiveness of renal denervation (RDN) in controlling blood pressure in patients with OSA remains controversial. In this systematic review, we tried to pool currently available data to assess the effects of RDN therapy on blood pressure in OSA patients.

We retrieved Pubmed, EMbase and Cochrane Library through 17 May 2023, using the following key words: “renal denervation” and”obstructive sleep apnea”. Full articles reporting the change of blood pressure after RDN procedure were included.

A total of five studies were included in the meta-analysis. Pooled analysis showed that RDN markedly reduced both 24-h ambulatory systolic blood pressure (24 h-SBP) (Mean difference (MD): -7.54mmHg; 95%Cl: -10.16 to -4.91mmHg; I2 = 0%) and 24-h ambulatory diastolic blood pressure (24 h-DBP) (MD: -5.28mmHg; 95%Cl: -7.35 to -3.22mmHg; I²⁼0%). Daytime systolic blood pressure (dSBP) was reduced after RDN (MD: -7.54mmHg; 95%Cl: -10.82 to -4.57mmHg; I² = 54%). With regards to nocturnal blood pressure, we found that RDN resulted in a significant reduction in nighttime systolic blood pressure (nSBP) (MD: -6.91mmHg; 95%Cl: -10.69 to -2.85mmHg; I²⁼0%). Subgroup analysis showed that dSBP was reduced by 12.00 mmHg, 12.00 mmHg, and 7.25 mmHg at 1 month, 3 months and 6 months, respectively. Our pooled analysis showed that AHI was not significantly changed by RDN. No major compilations were associated with RDN.

RDN exerts a considerable blood pressure-lowering effect in hypertensive patients with OSA, which was sustained at least 6 months.