Shunt for redistributing atrial blood volume

A method for treating heart failure in a patient experiencing low ejection fraction from the heart failure, the method comprising:

• percutaneously advancing an anchor in a collapsed delivery state to a puncture in an atrial septum of the patient;
• and
• transitioning the anchor from the collapsed delivery state to an expanded deployed state wherein the anchor comprises an hourglass-shaped body having a first region that extends into a left atrium, a second region that extends into a right atrium, and a neck region joining the first region to the second region such that the neck region is disposed at the puncture in the atrial septum, thereby implanting the anchor within the patient's heart,
• wherein the anchor defines a lumen therethrough configured to maintain a continuous opening that permits blood to flow across the puncture and inhibits late lumen loss, wherein the lumen has an effective orifice area selected to permit blood flow through the atrial septum to thereby reduce the patient's left atrial pressure and left ventricular-end diastolic pressure while preserving the patient's right atrial pressure and pulmonary artery pressure to treat the heart failure.