Expandable cardiac harness for treating congestive heart failure
First Claim
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1. An apparatus, comprising:
- a cardiac harness having first and second transversely extending series of spring elements, said first and second series of spring elements mechanically longitudinally coupled to each other by a longitudinally expandable member, said harness adapted to be placed about at least a cardiac base region defined generally adjacent and below an atrioventricular groove of a heart;
wherein said spring elements are configured to interact such that said harness expands and contracts in a substantially transverse dimension of said harness in the region of the cardiac base in response to the mechanical cardiac cycle, wherein any longitudinal foreshortening of said harness in the region of the cardiac base is substantially decoupled from expansion of the harness in the transverse dimension.
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Abstract
A cardiac harness for treating congestive heart failure is disclosed. The harness applies elastic, compressive reinforcement on the left ventricle to reduce deleterious wall tension and to resist shape change of the ventricle during the mechanical cardiac cycle. Rather than imposing a dimension beyond which the heart cannot expand, the harness provides no hard limit over the range of diastolic expansion of the ventricle. Instead, the harness follows the contour of the heart throughout diastole and continuously exerts gentle resistance to stretch. Also disclosed is a method of delivering the cardiac harness to the heart minimally invasively.
266 Citations
30 Claims
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1. An apparatus, comprising:
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a cardiac harness having first and second transversely extending series of spring elements, said first and second series of spring elements mechanically longitudinally coupled to each other by a longitudinally expandable member, said harness adapted to be placed about at least a cardiac base region defined generally adjacent and below an atrioventricular groove of a heart;
wherein said spring elements are configured to interact such that said harness expands and contracts in a substantially transverse dimension of said harness in the region of the cardiac base in response to the mechanical cardiac cycle, wherein any longitudinal foreshortening of said harness in the region of the cardiac base is substantially decoupled from expansion of the harness in the transverse dimension. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. An apparatus, comprising:
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a cardiac harness having first and second longitudinally extending series of spring elements, said first and second series of spring elements mechanically transversely coupled to each other by a transversely expandable member, said harness adapted to be placed on or adjacent an epicardium of a heart at a region adjacent at least a cardiac apex;
wherein said spring elements interact such that said harness expands and contracts in a substantially longitudinal dimension of said harness in the region of the cardiac apex in response to the mechanical cardiac cycle, wherein any transverse foreshortening of said harness in the region of the cardiac apex is substantially decoupled from expansion of the harness in the longitudinal dimension. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. An apparatus, comprising:
plural elongate strips sized to fit around at least a base of a ventricle of a head, such that said strips extend substantially transverse to the longitudinal axis of the heart, said strips longitudinally mechanically coupled to each other by a longitudinally expandable member and comprising respective spring elements, said spring elements elongating in the transverse direction in response to expansion of the ventricle without applying substantial longitudinal forces between adjacent strips. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. An apparatus for treating or preventing congestive heart failure, comprising:
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a cardiac harness comprising a plurality of interconnected spring elements, the harness having a base portion and an apex portion, the base and apex portions being sized and configured to be fitted to a base region and an apex region, respectively, of a patient'"'"'s heart;
an array of spring elements in the base portion, the array comprising at least one strip comprising a plurality of spring elements configured to elastically extend in a direction substantially transverse to a longitudinal axis of the heart; and
an array of spring elements in the apex portion, the array comprising at least one strip comprising a plurality of spring elements configured to elastically extend in a direction substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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Specification