Medical device company St. Jude Medical launches a landmark study of its Enlightn renal denervation in order to find out whether the nerve ablating treatment has unexpected health benefits beyond lowering high blood pressure.

St. Jude Medical (NYSE:STJ) is aiming to take its renal denervation therapy a step further, looking for signs that the minimally invasive treatment improves health beyond lowering high blood pressure in patients with uncontrolled hypertension.

The company's new Enlightnment trial is looking for long-term effects of renal denervation therapy, hoping to find out whether it reduces a patient's risk of major cardiovascular events.