For more than two decades, Jennifer Williams, senior reimbursement director at Medtronic, has helped healthcare providers and patients navigate access to cardiovascular therapies. A few years ago, she found herself on the patient side of the experience when she enrolled in a post-market approval clinical study for renal denervation to help manage her hypertension.

Earlier in life, high blood pressure had never been a concern for her. She always thought of her blood pressure as naturally low and controlled. That changed after a serious knee injury during a family ski trip in 2019.

Her blood pressure went up and stayed high. Over time, daily headaches, anxiety and worry became part of her routine.

“My blood pressure went up from that, because I was in pain, but then it never went down,” Williams said. “It just stayed up.”

Medication was not enough

At first, Williams focused on diet and exercise to help control her blood pressure. Later, she started taking medication. The dose increased over time, but she still did not see improvement. Instead, she was living with a headache almost every day. It became so normal that she stopped questioning it.

Along with the pain came a near-constant sense of worry. As a parent thinking about the future, she worried about long-term consequences such as stroke and overall health decline.

“I was always worried about it,” Williams said. “Even working out, I’d be worried. What if I pushed too far? I knew what uncontrolled blood pressure could lead to, and it was always there in the back of my mind.”

Learning about renal denervation

Because of her job, Williams knew about renal denervation with the Symplicity Spyral™ renal denervation (RDN) system, a catheter-based, minimally invasive procedure that disrupts the overactive sympathetic signaling between kidneys and brain to reduce blood pressure.^1-3

Williams was interested in learning whether another treatment option might be appropriate for her. She enrolled in the SPYRAL AFFIRM clinical trial studying RDN for uncontrolled hypertension.⁴

“After learning more about the positive clinical evidence backing this procedure, I had so much faith in the procedure and faith in Medtronic. I know the commitment to quality we have,” Williams said. “I knew I would be in good hands.”

She said many patients may not have the same familiarity or confidence. After discussing her treatment options with her physician and meeting the post-market approval study’s eligibility criteria, Williams underwent the renal denervation procedure as part of the post-market approval study.

From her experience, the procedure felt straightforward. It was done through an artery in her upper leg, which left some bruising and required additional rest.

Headaches were gone

The first major sign of change for Williams was not a number on the blood pressure monitor. It was realizing that she no longer had the headaches she had experienced before the procedure. Although she had previously attributed them to allergies, she associated the change with the same period in which her blood pressure improved.

It also helped her understand how much her body had been carrying and how much she had normalized feeling unwell.

“I didn’t even realize how much I was suffering, honestly, until it was gone,” Williams said.

From fear to hope

As Williams saw improvement in her blood pressure, she said she felt calmer and spent less time worrying about what might go wrong. She began thinking more about what was possible.

“Instead of me working out because I’m scared, now I want to work out because I want to improve more and more,” Williams said.

Her experience also gave her a more personal connection to the work our teams do to help providers and patients navigate access to procedures just like RDN. Williams leads a team that supports coding, coverage, payment and prior authorization. After becoming a patient herself, that work felt even more personal.

Contributing to research

Being an employee shaped her experience in several ways. It gave her early awareness of the procedure and trust in its progress and development. It also gave her a more personal understanding of what patients go through.

There was also something meaningful about taking part not only as a patient, but also as an employee contributing to the growing access and understanding of the procedure.

“It was great to know that I was contributing to the clinical knowledge of this procedure. That’s really kind of cool, to feel like I was a part of that,” Williams said.

Back on the trail

Jennifer Williams hiking in Yosemite Park, 2026

Williams said she is now able to enjoy life with her family without that constant worry.

On a recent family trip, she was able to prepare for a hiking vacation and enjoy the experience.

“We all hiked together, and that was so great. I didn’t have anybody worried about me and worried if I could do it. We all just did it together,” Williams said.

For her, that moment captured what had changed. She was no longer focused only on avoiding a negative outcome. She was thinking about the life she wants to keep building.

“I’m going to keep working, keep making all the therapies I support hopefully accessible for providers and patients, and just keep hiking and enjoying my life,” Williams said.

Safety Information

The Medtronic Symplicity™ blood pressure procedure does have known risks. These risks should be considered in relation to the potential benefits of the procedure.  Side effects may include headache, back pain, bruising and hematoma. Not every person will experience the same results. Most patients continue to take medications following the Symplicity procedure. Talk to your doctor to see if it may be right for you. Click this link to read product indications and important safety information.

Testimonials in this story are individual experiences. Their thoughts and opinions are their own. Patients with higher blood pressure before the procedure may see higher drops after the procedure, but results vary.

¹Coates P, et al. Time, temperature, power, and impedance considerations for radiofrequency catheter renal denervation. Cardiovasc Revasc Med. September 2022;42:171-177.

²Böhm M, et al. Efficacy of catheter-based renal denervation in the absence of antihypertensive medications (SPYRAL HTN-OFF MED Pivotal): a multicentre, randomised, sham controlled trial. Lancet. May 2, 2020;395(10234):1444-1451.

³Kandzari D, et al. Safety and Efficacy of Renal Denervation in Patients Taking Antihypertensive Medications. J Am Coll Cardiol. November 7, 2023;82(19):1809–1823.

⁴ https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05198674, October 12, 2026.

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