Devices and methods for heart valve repair

摘要

Devices and methods provide enhanced treatment of a cardiac valve annulus. Methods generally involve contacting an anchor delivery device with the valve annulus and releasing a plurality of coupled anchors from the anchor delivery device to secure the anchors to the annulus. Anchors, which in some embodiments are super-elastic or shape memory self-securing anchors, are then drawn together to tighten the annulus. Devices generally include an elongate catheter having a housing at or near the distal end for releasably housing a plurality of coupled anchors. The housing may be flexible, may conform to a valve annulus, and in some embodiments may be coupled with an expandable member to enhance contact of the housing with annular tissue. In one embodiment, self-securing anchors lie approximately flat within the delivery device housing, allowing anchors with relatively large deployed shapes to be housed in and deployed from a relatively narrow delivery device.

主权项

1. A method of constricting tissue in a heart, the method comprising: advancing an operational device such that a distal end of the operational device is entirely within a ventricle to contact a length of ventricular tissue located between a left ventricular wall, at least one mitral valve leaflet and at least one chordae tendineae of the heart, wherein the operational device comprises a lumen and a plurality of apertures in communication with the lumen for delivering a plurality of anchors therethrough, wherein contacting the length of tissue comprises simultaneously positioning the plurality of coupled anchors along the length of the tissue; delivering the simultaneously positioned plurality of coupled anchors from the lumen of device through the plurality of apertures to secure the anchors to the tissue; and drawing the anchors together to constrict the tissue.