Treatment for patient with congestive heart failure

A minimally invasive method of treating a patient's heart which has a left ventricle that provides insufficient output, comprising:

• a. exposing an exterior region of the patient's heart wall which defines in part the left ventricle;
• b. advancing a delivery tube until a distal end of the delivery tube engages the exterior region of the patient's heart wall;
• c. releasably securing the distal end of the delivery tube to engaged exterior region of the patients's heart;
• d. advancing a pacing lead with a penetrating electrode through an inner lumen of the delivery tube to the exposed region of the patient's heart wall;
• e. securing the penetrating eletrode of the pacing lead within the patient's heart wall;
• and
• f. delivering electrical pulses to the penetrating electrode of the pacing lead to control the contraction of the heart wall to which the pacing lead is secured.

A method of treating a patient's heart with congestive heart failure due at least in part to regurgitation through a mitral valve and ventricular conduction delay with resulting disturbance of the synchronous ventricular contractility, comprising:

• a. forming a small passageway in the patient's left ventricular wall defining in part the patient's left ventricle;
• b. seating a valve into the passageway formed in the left ventricular wall;
• c. advancing a grasping device through the valve into the left ventricle;
• d. advancing an expandable member through the valve, through the left ventricle, through the mitral valve into a left atrium distal to the mitral valve;
• e. expanding the expandable member within the left atrium and engaging leaflets of the mitral valve and guiding the leaflets to a grasping location;
• f. grasping the leaflets in the grasping location with the grasping device;
• g. securing together free edges of the leaflets grasped with one or more connecting members;
• h. exposing an exterior region of the patient's heart wall which defines in part the left ventricle;
• i. advancing a pacing lead with a penetrating electrode through the patient's chest cavity to an exposed region of the patient's heart wall;
• j. securing the pacing lead to the exposed region of the patient's heart wall with the penetrating electrode within the heart wall;
• and
• k. delivering electrical pulses to the pacing lead to control the contraction of the heart wall to which the pacing lead in secured.

A minimally invasive system for treating a patient's heart having heart valve regurgitation, comprising:

• a. a valve body which is disposed within a passageway formed through the patient's heart wall to provide an instrument passageway into a chamber of the patient's heart defined in part by the heart from a location within the patient's chest cavity, which is secured to the patient's heart wall and which has a valve element to prevent lost of blood flow through the valve body;
• b. a tissue grasping device configured to extend through the valve body disposed within the passageway into the chamber of the patient's heart and having at least two grasping members configured to grasp valve leaflets;
• and
• c. a tissue securing assembly configured to pass through the valve body to secure a tissue connecting member to at least one free edge of a valve leaflet.

A minimally invasive system for treating a patient's heart having a chamber providing insufficient output, comprising:

• a. a valve configured to be secured within a passageway formed through the patient's heart wall to provide an instrument passageway into a chamber of the patient's heart defined in part by the heart wall through which the passageway is formed;
• b. a tissue grasping device configured to extend through the valve into the chamber of the patient heart and to grasp free edges of valve leaflets;
• c. a tissue securing assembly advanceable through the valve to secure one or more connecting members to at least one free edge of a valve leaflet;
• d. a pacing lead configured to be advanced into the patient's chest cavity through a small opening in the patient's chest an to be secured to an exterior region of the patient's heart;
• and
• e. an elongated pulse transmitting member having one end secured to the pacing lead and another end configured to be connected to a source of energy pulses.

A minimally invasive system for installing a pacing lead to an exterior region of a free wall of a patient's heart, comprising:

• a. a delivery tube having a proximal end, a port in the proximal end, a distal end, a port in the distal end, an inner lumen extending from the proximal end to the distal end and in fluid communication with the ports therein and a securing pod on the distal end to releasably secure the distal end of the delivery tube to the exterior region of the patient's free heart wall;
• b. a pacing lead slidably disposed within the inner lumen of the delivery tube with a distal electrode which is securable within the patient's heart wall of the exterior region and a collar on the lead proximal to the distal electrode;
• and
• c. configured;
• d. a driving member on the distal end of the delivery tube configured to engage the collar on the lead and drive the electrode of the lead into the heart wall of the exposed region of the patient's heart.

A method of treating a patient having CHF, comprising:

• a. providing a pacing lead having a pulse emitting electrode on the distal end thereof;
• b. advancing the pacing lead through a small opening in the patient's chest;
• c. passing the pacing lead through an inner lumen of a delivery tube which has a distal end releasably secured to a region of the patient's heart wall defining in part the patient's heart left ventricle;
• d. securing the pulse emitting electrode on the distal end of the pacing lead within a free wall of the patient's heart defining in part the patient's left ventricle;
• and
• e. emitting electrical pulses from the electrode to pace the contractions of the patient's left ventricle to increase the blood flow out of the left ventricle.

A minimally invasive system for delivering a pacing lead to an exposed region of a patient's free ventricular wall defining in part the patient's left ventricle, comprising:

• a. an elongated pacing lead having a distal end with a ventricular wall penetrating electrode and a distal end configured to be connected to an electrical conducting relationship with a suitable pacing power source;
• b. an elongated delivery tube having a proximal end, a distal end configured to pass through a small opening in the patient's chest, an inner lumen extending through the delivery tube configured to slidably receive the pacing lead and a vacuum pod on the distal end of the delivery tube to releasably secure the distal end of the delivery tube to the exposed region of the patient heart wall;
• and
• c. a driving member on a distal portion of the delivery tube configured to engage the pacing lead and drive the tissue penetrating electrode through the exposed surface of the patient's heart wall to secure the electrode within the heart wall.

A minimally invasive system for treating a patient having CHF, comprising:

• a. means for accessing a CHF patient's left ventricle through a valved passageway in the free ventricular wall defining in part the patient's left ventricle;
• b. means for securing together free edges of the patient's mitral valve in a “Bow-Tie” configuration from within the patient's left ventricle;
• c. pacing means having an electrode secured within a region of the CHF patient's free heart wall defining in part the patient's left ventricle;
• and
• d. an electrical power source electrically connected to the pacing means to deliver electrical pulses to the patient's free wall suitable to pace the patient's left ventricle.

A minimally invasive method for treating a patient having CHF, comprising:

• a. accessing a CHF patient's left ventricle through a valved passageway in the free ventricular wall defining in part the patient's left ventricle;
• b. securing together free edges of the patient's mitral valve in a “Bow-Tie” configuration from within the patient's left ventricle;
• c. securing an electrode of a pacing lead within a region of the CHF patient's free heart wall defining in part the patient's left ventricle;
• and
• d. delivering electrical pulses from an electrical power source to the pacing lead to deliver electrical pulses to the patient's free wall suitable to pace the patient's left ventricle.

The method for treating a patient with a regurgitating heart valve, comprising:

• a. providing connector having a connecting member and at least one strand having a first end secured to the connecting member and a free unsecured portion;
• b. securing together free edges of the patient's regurgitating heart valve with at least one connecting member;
• and
• c. securing the free unsecured portion of at least one strand secured to the connecting member to a heart wall.