Delivery Catheter and Methods of Delivery for Aortic ARCH Baroreceptor Hypertension Implants

A method of delivering a hypertension treatment implant in a patient, said method comprising:

• advancing a delivery catheter carrying an implant for treating hypertension in a distal portion thereof, the implant comprising one or more expandable structures and being disposed in a collapsed configuration on the delivery catheter to facilitate advancement through the vasculature of the patient, the entire implant, when deployed, being a length of 70 mm or more and having a non-circular cross-section;
• positioning the distal portion of the catheter carrying the implant in the collapsed configuration at a target region within the aortic arch, wherein the target region includes a region extending between the left common carotid artery and the left subclavian artery takeoffs;
• and
• deploying the implant within the aortic arch of the patient so that the implant assumes an expanded configuration so as to sufficiently engage at least a portion of the arterial wall along the target region, thereby triggering a baroreflex response of aortic arch baroreceptors within the target region to reduce blood pressure.

A delivery catheter for deploying a hypertension treatment implant in a patient, the delivery catheter comprising:

• a shaft extending between a proximal end and a distal end, the shaft having one or more lumens therethrough;
• an implant disposed on a distal portion of the shaft in a collapsed configuration, wherein the implant is convertible between the collapsed configuration and an expanded configuration for engaging the arterial walls within the aortic arch, wherein the implant comprises one or more expandable structures sufficiently flexible in a lateral direction to accommodate a curvature of the aortic arch, wherein the an entire length of the implant, when deployed, is 70 mm or greater and having a non-circular cross section and positionable via the delivery catheter so as to engage a target region within the aortic arch;
• a retractable outer sheath having a proximal end and a distal end and being disposed over the shaft including the distal end portion having the implant disposed thereon such that the delivery catheter is configured to facilitate deployment of the one or more expandable structures at the target region;
• and
• a catheter handle disposed at or near the proximal end of the shaft, wherein the outer sheath is retractable from the catheter handle to facilitate deployment of the implant within the aortic arch with the at least one expandable structure of the plurality disposed at the target region in the aortic arch.