Methods and devices for renal nerve blocking
Drug eluting implants for targeted delivery of a nerve blocking agent to inhibit neural traffic along renal nerves of a human patient.
1. A method of treating a human patient diagnosed with at least one of hypertension, heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, renal disease, or chronic renal failure, the method comprising:
extravascularly positioning a drug eluting device proximate to a renal nerve innervating a kidney of the patient; and
delivering a nerve blocking agent from the drug eluting device to inhibit neural traffic along the renal nerve to and from the kidney of the patient,
wherein inhibiting neural traffic along the renal nerve beneficially treats the patient by modulating at least one of urine production, blood pressure, fluid retention, renin secretion, renal blood flow, waste excretion, and sodium retention in the patient.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein extravascularly positioning a drug eluting device proximate to a renal nerve comprises positioning a matrix carrying a nerve blocking agent proximate to the renal nerve.
3. The method of claim 2 wherein positioning a matrix carrying a nerve blocking agent proximate to the renal nerve comprises positioning at least one of a gel, patch, microsphere, suspension, and solution proximate to the renal nerve.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein extravascularly positioning the drug eluting device comprises positioning the drug eluting device under guidance imaging.
5. The method of claim 4 wherein extravascularly positioning the drug eluting device under guidance imaging comprises positioning the drug eluting device under fluoroscopic guidance.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein extravascularly positioning a drug eluting device proximate a renal nerve comprises positioning a biodegradable polymer proximate the renal nerve.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein extravascularly positioning a drug eluting device proximate a renal nerve comprises positioning a surface eroding polymer proximate the renal nerve.
8. The method of claim 1 wherein inhibiting neural traffic along the renal nerve comprises denervating the kidney of the patient.
9. The method of claim 1 wherein inhibiting neural traffic along the renal nerve comprises ablating the renal nerve via the nerve blocking agent.
10. The method of claim 1 wherein inhibiting neural traffic along the renal nerve further results in a reduction of systemic sympathetic tone in the patient.