Baroreflex activation therapy

On 20th of July, 2018, the Austrian HTA body, the Ludwig-Boltzmann Institute (LBI) has published an evaluation of baroreceptor activation therapy for treatment-resistant hypertension. The authors concluded that there is no sufficient evidence to conclude on effectiveness or safety of BAT and thus inclusion of the procedure into the Austrian benefit catalogue is not recommended. There are currently three RCTs going on, and their results may bring new evidence.

An article “An early analysis of cost-utility of baroreflex activation therapy in advanced chronic heart failure in Germany” was published in the BMC Cardiovascular Disorders. The study concluded that Baroreflex activation therapy (BAT) using the Barostim neo™ device (CVRx Inc., Minneapolis, MN, USA) compared with optimized medical management in patients with advanced chronic heart failure (NYHA class III) who were not eligible for treatment with cardiac resynchronization therapy, can be cost-effective from a statutory health insurance perspective in Germany over a lifetime horizon. The ICER was €27,951/QALY (95% CI €21,357–82,970).

An assessment was initiated earlier this year on the request from Dutch Hypertension Society and umbrella organization of 9 health insurance companies Zorgverzekeraars Nederland. The Institute will evaluate compliance of baroreflex activation therapy (BAT) for treatment of resistant hypertension with the state of science and practice.