Pulsed Intra-Arterial Drug Injection during Diastolic Phase of Cardiac Function Increases Drug Efficacy by Enhancing Pharmacological Exposure of Targeted Tissues

Abstract

Diastolic phase of cardiac function is associated with lower arterial flow and hence higher concentration of intra arterially injected drug is achieved at the site of injection. It is herein postulated that drugs show higher efficacy when injected during the diastolic phase of cardiac function. It is also postulated that this benefit cannot be achieved when the drug is injected with higher rates thus producing the same high concentration at the site of injection. Pulsed intra arterial injection also benefits from the delayed therapeutic effect of the decaying drug before the next shot of injection resaturates the targeted tissue. Altogether, it is estimated that diastolic time-locked pulsed intra arterial injection will increase the drug efficacy up to 1.9 times the efficacy of injected drug with conventional methods. This is significant for drugs with limited dose of administration due to their disastrous side effects like tissue plasminogen activator or chemotherapeutic drugs.Â