Heart Failure Clinical Trials

Hypertension is a major risk factor for a variety of cardiovascular diseases. When hypertension results from increased vascular resistance due to a narrowing of the descending aorta, it can be effectively treated with stenting. More recently, evidence suggest that stenting in more distal parts of the arterial vascular bed is also associated with a reduction in blood pressure. The investigators hypothesize that stenting of occlusions more distal of the descending aorta decreases the central blood pressure and afterload as reflected by NT-proBNP (N-terminal pro-Brain Natriuretic Peptide), a biomarker of intracardiac pressures and predictor of heart failure events. The goal of this pilot study is to prospectively investigate changes in blood pressure after stent placement in the aorto-iliac region.