Radiofrequency Renal Denervation Protects the Ischemic Myocardium

The sympathetic nervous system plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and heart failure. This study tested whether pre-conditioning with radiofrequency renal artery ablation (RF-ABL) protects the heart against myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (MI/R) in the setting of hypertension. Spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) received either bilateral RF-ABL (n=14) or Sham-ABL (n=14) (Biosense Webster Stockert 70 RF generator). Four weeks following treatment, hypertensive SHR were subjected to 30 minutes of left coronary artery occlusion. After 24 hours reperfusion, the myocardial infarct size/area-at-risk (AAR) were determined. In addition, the left ventricle (LV) was collected for measurement of nitric oxide (NO) metabolites, nitrite (NO2−) and S-nitrosothiol (RSNO), and oxidative stress. RF-ABL produced a significant decrease in myocardial infarct size per AAR compared to Sham-ABL (26.8 vs. 43.9%) and lower plasma cardiac troponin-I (6.8 vs. 10.3 ng/ml). Cardiac NO2− leve...