Baroreceptor Activation Therapy 2 Decades after Vascular Surgery on Both Carotid Arteries in a Patient with Resistant Hypertension: First Case Report in the Literature

Patients with previous surgery of the carotids or significant stenosis are not included in the study populations of baroreceptor activation therapy (BAT). In this case report about a 78-year-old woman with implantation of a BAT system 2 decades after bilateral thromboendarterectomy, control of hypertensive dysregulation could be observed even 20 months after implantation. Successful modulation of the baroreceptors requires intact adventitial tissue near the carotid sinus. In our case with previous longitudinal incision and patch angioplasty, the nerval innervation had been preserved. After careful evaluation, patients with a history of carotid thromboendarterectomy might be considered for BAT.