Renal Denervation for Uncontrolled Hypertension: Complexity After Symplicity

Speaker: Dr. Nicholas J. Ruggiero II, MD

Bio: Dr. Nicholas J. Ruggiero II received his MD degree at Jefferson Medical College. He completed his internship and residency in internal medicine, and his fellowship in cardiovascular diseases at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. He also completed additional fellowships at Massachusetts General Hospital studying interventional coronary and structural cardiology and vascular medicine and interventions while served on the faculty of Harvard Medical School as an instructor in the cardiac catheterization lab. 

Dr. Ruggiero was awarded the Gregory P. Braden Memorial award, given to the top graduating interventional cardiology fellow in the country from the Society of Coronary Angiography and Intervention and the CRT Young Leaders Award. He joined Thomas Jefferson University as the director of structural heart disease and non-coronary interventions in 2010.

Since then Dr. Ruggiero develops the transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) program, mitraclip program, becomes the director of the Jefferson Heart Institute vascular laboratory and the associate program director of the Cardiology fellowship. He has published over 40 peer reviewed papers, authored numerous book chapters and abstracts, edited multiple textbooks, delivered multiple lectures at national meetings, served on many national and international committees and is on the editorial board of multiple journals.

Dr. Ruggiero becomes associate professor at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at 2016. He is board certified in internal medicine, cardiology, and interventional cardiology, and a fellow of many medical societies. He is the primary investigator of multiple interventional research trials including Symplicity 3 and is considered a national thought leader in structural heart disease and peripheral vascular interventions.

Dr. Ruggiero’s speech title is “Renal Denervation for Uncontrolled Hypertension: Complexity After Symplicity”. Renal denervation for uncontrolled hypertension demonstrated in many early trials to be extremely successful. These trials accounted for widespread implementation of the procedure in Europe and a change in the ESC management guidelines. The large, randomized, pivotal US trial, Symplicity HTN 3, unfortunately showed no benefit in comparison to optimal medical therapy.  These results bridaled enthusiasm for this technology and accounted for many companies to desert the premise altogether. Fortunately, those who believe in the procedure are pressing forward and multiple new trials which are currently enrolling will ultimately determine the future of renal denervation.  In the lecture, he will discuss the mechanism of action of renal denervation and early trial data for the Symplicity HTN 3. He will also give insight for new studies and data as well as alternative options besides RF ablation.