Novel clinical trial cures woman’s uncontrolled hypertension
As medication-resistant high blood pressure silently ravaged her kidneys, heart and eyes, Tiphany Kane was desperate.
“I was bedridden because if I got up to do anything, my blood pressure went wild,” recalls the video and podcast producer. “My headaches were beyond migraine level.”
Kane’s hypertension began after she developed preeclampsia with the births of her two children, now 21 and 15. It was initially controlled with medication, but for the last three years, nothing seemed to prevent her blood pressure from reaching levels more than double normal readings.
“I’d wake up with horrible nausea and dangerous spikes, like 256 over 128,” she says. “I’d think, ‘Am I going to have a stroke while I’m sleeping?’”
Despite Kane’s fears, her primary care doctor at the time dismissed her symptoms as anxiety-induced and advised her to stop checking her blood pressure altogether.
An unexpected lifeline
After one such visit, she sobbed in her car, despairing and doubting her sanity.
Then she discovered an unexpected lifeline while scrolling social media. On Instagram, she spotted a UCI Health post about a clinical trial for people with drug-resistant high blood pressure that cannot be controlled despite taking three or more medications.
More than 10 million Americans who have this condition face a 47% greater risk of death from cardiovascular disease and a higher risk for stroke, diabetes, heart failure and kidney damage, says Dr. Pengbo Jiang, a UCI Health specialist in kidney disease and disorders who was the first in the nation to test a nerve-blocking device to control drug-resistant hypertension.
In desperation, Kane reached out to the clinical trial coordinator. Soon she had an appointment with Jiang, principal investigator for the renal denervation trial. To Kane’s profound relief, Jiang regarded her condition as a serious medical issue — not a product of anxiety.
“He was amazing,” she says. “Anything I asked, he would say, ‘That’s a good question.’”
After extensive screening, Kane was enrolled in the clinical trial — akin in her mind to winning the lottery, given that the multicenter study is enrolling just 15 patients nationwide. Three months later, she became the second participant to undergo the procedure at UCI Health.
Targeting renal artery nerves
The novel robot-assisted surgery stops hypertension at its source: by disrupting the nerves surrounding the arteries that supply the kidneys. These nerves determine blood flow via signals from the nervous system. The device uses radiofrequency (RF) electrodes to destroy the renal artery nerves transmitting those signals.
“Essentially, you’re blocking that mechanism,” explains Jiang, who is also an assistant professor at the UC Irvine School of Medicine.
The minimally invasive procedure is performed via small incisions on either side of the back. Using a novel device called HyperQure™, developed by the South Korean company DeepQure, a tiny tool wraps around the outer walls of both renal arteries. It uses RF waves to destroy the nerves without damaging the blood vessels themselves — a process called denervation.
In 2024, the instrument received an investigational device exemption from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, paving the way for the feasibility study. In an ongoing trial in South Korea, participants saw as much as a 30- to 40-point drop in systolic blood pressure (the top number) at six months.
When Kane underwent the procedure on Dec. 3, 2025, Jiang faced a more challenging surgery because she was born with a third renal artery on her left kidney, requiring more time to properly treat the extra blood vessel. Despite the complexity, the results have been transformative.
Since her surgery, Kane’s blood pressure has “come down nicely,” Jiang says. She no longer suffers from debilitating headaches. The damaging effects of persistant hypertension on her organs, including her eyes, have been halted.
A 'paradigm shift' in treatment
The three-year study is open to patients ages 22 to 80 with drug-resistant hypertension. But Jiang and his co-investigator, Dr. Ekamol Tantisattamo, a nephrologist who leads the UCI Health hypertension program, are focused primarily on enlisting participants at high risk of cardiovascular and kidney disease.
The trial also seeks to determine the durability of the nerve ablation. Jiang notes that the HyperQure study in South Korea has shown that patients treated over a year ago have experienced very durable lasting results — an outcome he calls “amazing.” The new device, he believes, could lead to a “paradigm shift” in managing uncontrolled hypertension.
As for Kane, she cannot thank Jiang and the UCI Health team enough for “taking a chance on me.” In a recent note to them, she wrote: “Without the clinical trial, my blood pressure would still be out of control, and I would be well on my way to losing my eyesight, having a stroke or experiencing other organ damage.”
The 52-year-old Mission Viejo woman is paddleboarding and taking power walks again. “The denervation surgery saved my life,” she says. ”I’m not living in fear anymore. That’s the biggest gift.”
Learn more about the UCI Health renal denervation clinical trial.