Frequently asked questions

Around the world, high blood pressure affects an estimated 1.28 billion adults.¹

There are many factors that increase your risk of developing high blood pressure.² Some you can control, such as what you eat, how much you exercise, and whether you smoke. Some you can’t control, such as your family history, race, age, gender, and chronic conditions like diabetes and kidney disease.

Symptoms (if they occur) can be mild or severe, including headaches, nosebleeds, and shortness of breath.¹ Symptoms of severe high blood pressure include severe chest pain, severe headache with confusion and blurred vision, nausea and vomiting, severe anxiety, and seizures.²

What makes high blood pressure dangerous is that it often has no warning signs — so you could have it and not know it.¹ If you have high blood pressure, your heart works harder, which can raise your risk of heart attacks, strokes, heart failure, and kidney failure.^2,3 These risks can be very serious — especially if your high blood pressure is left untreated.

You will decide with your doctor if the Symplicity blood pressure procedure is right for you. What you want plays a big role in this decision, so it’s important to be vocal about your preference.

Talk with your doctor to learn more about coverage for the Symplicity blood pressure procedure.

The Symplicity blood pressure procedure has risks like any medical treatment. Adverse events include, but are not limited to, bruising and pain. Individual results may vary.

The procedure is done in a hospital. Some people go home the same day and others stay overnight and go home the next day. Your doctor will decide what is right for you.

Every hospital has its own approach, but generally speaking the procedure usually takes about an hour. You will be given medication to make you relaxed, sleepy, and comfortable. Talk to your doctor for more information.

After you are sedated, your doctor makes a small incision in your thigh or arm (or both, depending on their preference) and inserts a very thin tube (catheter) into the artery leading to the kidney. The doctor then uses the catheter to calm the excessive activity of the nerves connected to the kidney.⁴ The tube is removed, leaving no device behind.

Most people resume normal activities within a week. Your doctor will decide when you can do the same.

Yes. Continue taking all blood pressure (and other) medication as prescribed unless your doctor recommends a change.

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle after your procedure can help reduce your blood pressure. That means getting your blood pressure checked, following your doctor’s advice, taking blood pressure (and other) medication as prescribed, and making healthy choices about diet, exercise, and smoking.

At your doctor’s discretion, you will have a follow-up appointment with the doctor who performed the procedure and the doctor who treats your high blood pressure.