Placing a guide member into a heart chamber through a coronary vessel and delivering devices for placing the coronary vessel in communication with the heart chamber

A system for placing a guide member through the wall of a patient's heart so that the guide member extends through a coronary vessel and the wall of the heart into a heart chamber, the system comprising:

• an introducer sized and configured for placement through the coronary vessel and wall of a patient's heart into a heart chamber;
• and
• a guide member sized and configured to be passed through the coronary vessel and the heart wall into the heart chamber, the guide member having a proximal portion adapted to remain outside the heart and a distal portion adapted to be passed into the heart chamber;
• wherein one of the introducer and the guide member is configured to direct the distal portion of the guide member to a predetermined location within the heart chamber upon introducing the guide member into the chamber.

A system for delivering a conduit into the wall of a patient's heart to communicate a coronary vessel with a heart chamber, the system comprising:

• an introducer configured for placement through the heart wall and into a heart chamber;
• a guide member sized and configured to be positioned in the introducer and placed through the heart wall into the heart chamber;
• and
• a conduit sized and configured for placement in the wall of the heart so as to communicate the heart chamber with a coronary vessel, the conduit configured to be coupled to the guide member for delivery into the heart chamber and placement in the wall of the heart.

A method for placing a guide member in a patient's heart so that the guide member extends through a coronary vessel and the wall of the heart into a heart chamber containing blood, the method comprising steps of:

• (a) passing a first end of a guide member through the coronary vessel and through the wall of the heart so that the guide member passes into the heart chamber containing blood;
• (b) maintaining a second end of the guide member outside the heart chamber;
• and
• (c) passing the first end of the guide member back out of the heart chamber.

A method for placing a conduit in the wall of a patient's heart to establish a blood flow path between a coronary vessel and a heart chamber, the method comprising steps of:

• (a) positioning a guide member that extends through the coronary vessel and the heart wall into a heart chamber;
• (b) using the guide member to deliver a conduit into the heart chamber;
• and
• (d) positioning the conduit in the heart wall to establish a blood flow path between the heart chamber and the interior of the vessel.