Jamie's Story

“I didn’t want to do anything,” Jamie Pepperman, now 44, of Southfield, said. “I was miserable.”

A decade ago, Pepperman’s life began to unravel. What started as mild fatigue and discomfort slowly snowballed into a relentless medical nightmare.

A routine eye exam uncovered severe swelling of her optic nerves, and an MRI followed, revealing swelling in her brain stem, a condition known as posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES), tied to rapid blood pressure changes.

The scan showed something else — unbeknownst to her, Pepperman had suffered a stroke.

From that day forward, she lived under constant threat with her blood pressure soaring to dangerous levels, sometimes reaching 265 over 135, despite eight medications and lifestyle changes. A normal blood pressure range for most adults is less than 120 over 80.

“It didn’t matter that I exercised daily or followed a healthy diet,” she said. “Nothing worked.”

Doctors diagnosed Pepperman with resistant hypertension, a condition in which blood pressure stays dangerously elevated despite multiple medications. The toll was overwhelming: relentless headaches, fatigue, shortness of breath, and poor sleep, compounded by the constant fear of what might come next.

“It affected everything,” she said. “My mood, my energy. It completely changed my quality of life.”

Pepperman’s family physician eventually referred her to Elvis Cami, MD, the medical director of cardiac MRI at Corewell Health William Beaumont University Hospital. And that referral changed the trajectory of her care.

“He listened,” Pepperman said. “And he told me, ‘We are going to find a solution.’”

Dr. Cami ordered extensive testing to uncover the root cause of her hypertension. After exhausting traditional therapies, he raised a newer option: renal denervation, a minimally invasive procedure designed for patients whose blood pressure can’t be controlled with medication, though at the time the system for the procedure was not yet FDA-approved and commercialized.

Dr. Cami connected Pepperman with Robert Safian, MD, another Corewell Health cardiologist preparing to perform renal denervation as the procedure moved toward FDA approval. Dr. Safian is the Lucia Zurkowski Endowed Chair for the Center for Innovation and Research in Cardiovascular Diseases.

Insurance coverage for this procedure was uncertain, and Pepperman began losing hope.

“This was the one thing doctors believed could possibly save my life,” she said.

Dr. Safian didn’t give up. He worked directly with Pepperman’s insurance provider, calling multiple times with updates and advocating on her behalf.

When Pepperman got word she could proceed with the procedure in August 2025, she was overwhelmed.

“I sat in my office and cried,” she said. “I was so grateful.”

On Oct. 9, 2025, Pepperman underwent renal denervation at Corewell Health. Through a catheter inserted in her groin, Dr. Safian delivered targeted energy to nerves around the arteries in her kidneys, performing 41 ablations to disrupt signals driving her resistant hypertension.

“At the time of the procedure, Jamie was on 10 medications with a blood pressure greater than 220 over 120,” Dr. Safian said. “She had malignant hypertension — damage to the heart, brain, kidneys, and retina — making her the perfect candidate.”

She was told it could take months to see results. Instead, improvement came quickly.

“By the end of the first week, Jamie’s blood pressure was in normal range,” Dr. Safian said.

At her worst, she was taking ten medications. Within weeks, that number dropped to four or five.

Three months later, Pepperman’s down to just three medications, and her blood pressure now averages 132 over 80.

Pepperman said she feels like she has her life back. She has more energy, sleeps better, and no longer lives in constant fear of her own body.

“To have had two strokes before 40 that we know of — it’s terrifying,” she said. “Without this procedure, I don’t know where I’d be.”

Dr. Safian added, “She’s only 44, so being able to make an almost immediate impact and prevent life-threatening complications like stroke, seizures, and disability is incredible. Offering a therapy that can dramatically improve her quality of life for decades ahead — allowing her to be active and engaged like a young person should be — is a privilege as a physician.”

Today, she shares her story with one message in mind: “Don’t ignore what your body is telling you. If something doesn’t feel right, push for answers. Be your own advocate.”

She credits the Corewell Health cardiology team for not giving up on her or on the search for a solution.

And as for Dr. Safian, his advice is clear: “Renal denervation shouldn’t be a last resort option. It needs to be part of the doctor-patient conversation earlier on — before complications arise.”