Published in:
12-05-2023 | Spinal Cord Stimulation | Research Article
Low- and high-frequency spinal cord stimulation and arterial blood pressure in patients with chronic pain and hypertension: a retrospective study
Published in: Clinical Autonomic Research | Issue 4/2023
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Purpose
Evidence suggests that traditional low-frequency spinal cord stimulation (LF-SCS) reduces arterial blood pressure (BP) in patients with chronic pain and hypertension independent of improved pain symptoms. However, it remains unclear whether high-frequency spinal cord stimulation (HF-SCS) also lowers BP in chronic pain patients with hypertension. Therefore, in a retrospective study design, we tested the hypothesis that clinic BP would be significantly reduced following implantation of HF-SCS in patients with chronic pain and hypertension.
Methods
Clinic BP within 3 months before and after surgical implantation of either a LF-SCS or HF-SCS device between 2010 and 2020 were collected from electronic medical records at The University of Kansas Health System (TUKHS).
Results
A total of 132 patients had available records of clinic BP (64 ± 13 years of age). Patients with hypertension (n = 32) demonstrated a significantly greater reduction in systolic BP (−8 ± 12 versus 2 ± 9 mmHg, P < 0.001) following implantation compared with normotensive patients (n = 100). Importantly, the change in BP was inversely related to baseline BP independent of age and sex following implantation of HF-SCS (n = 70, R = −0.50, P < 0.001) or LF-SCS (n = 62, R = −0.42, P = 0.001). Higher pain scores before implantation were not associated with reduction in systolic BP (R = 0.10, P = 0.43) or diastolic BP (R = −0.08, P = 0.53) (n = 69) after implantation.
Conclusion
These findings confirm previous studies showing reduced BP following implantation of LF-SCS in patients with chronic pain and hypertension and provide novel data regarding reduced BP following implantation of newer generation HF-SCS devices.