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PANAMA CITY A local hospital is on the front lines of a groundbreaking procedure that has the potential to save lives.

Ascension Sacred Heart Bay is one of the first hospitals in the area to treat patients with chronic euphoria, said Amir Hagigat, a physician and interventional cardiologist at the Heart and Vascular Institute of Northwest Florida. To help, the company is beginning to treat patients using new FDA-approved technology. blood pressure.

Hagihat, who handles the majority of cases at Ascension, is one of two doctors at the hospital authorized to oversee the new procedure, known as renal (kidney) denervation. It uses radiofrequency energy in the kidneys to disrupt the nerves that send signals to the brain about blood pressure.

“This new procedure was only approved by the FDA in recent months and is now available commercially to only a few hospitals in the region,” he said. “I think this is a big statement[for Ascension]. It’s saying, ‘Look, we’re back.'”

He said it was more common to see those types of new technologies installed in Ascension before Category 5 Hurricane Michael devastated many areas of the county in October 2018. He pointed out. It was only recently that hospitals started to get back on track.

“At a time like this, when we see Ascension taking the plunge and investing in new technology ahead of other companies, it shows us that Ascension is serious about cardiovascular services here locally,” Hagigat said. Told. “I think it’s a great opportunity for patients.”

He noted that renal denervation has been shown to reduce blood pressure by at least 10 points. This is important because lowering your blood pressure by just 10 points has been shown to significantly reduce your risk of heat stroke, stroke, and heart disease.

This treatment is currently available only to patients whose high blood pressure cannot be controlled with prescription drugs alone. The complication rate is less than 1%.

“For those patients, options are running out,” Hagihat said. “[Renal denervation]is very safe…so it’s a very effective procedure for this situation.”

A press release from Ascension states that the company’s first local renal denervation was performed on March 13th. It also states that heart disease and stroke are the leading causes of death in the United States, and that half of adults over the age of 45 have high blood pressure.

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More than 2,000 people in Bay County have been hospitalized for high blood pressure over the past three years, according to the release.

“I think primary prevention and basically lifestyle modification is still the way to go,” Hagigat said. “In any case, that’s what you start with. … They need to get involved and approve of their own health and strive to see these issues improve in general.”

“But there are people who don’t have a choice. They’ve tried everything… and now we have a new tool, which is really exciting.”

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