Patients suffering from hypertension belong to a risk group threatened with high morbidity and mortality. For the majority of these patients, the cause of their hypertension remains unknown and their hypertension is labelled as essential. In some of these patients, compensation of the blood pressure level cannot be achieved even by administration of combined medicamentous treatment. Laboratory and clinical observations have ascertained a causal correlation between hypertension and vascular compression of the ventromedial medulla oblongata at the level of the root entry zone of n. IX. and X. Microvascular decompression of the pertinent nerve structures seems to be promising treatment of certain patients suffering from essential hypertension.

        Key words: essential hypertension, treatment, decompression of the IXth and Xth nerve