Abstract: A system for treating a heart includes a catheter that is advanceable into a chamber of the heart and that is repositionable within the chamber between a septal wall and an external wall to enable penetration of the septal and external walls via a needle that is disposed within a lumen of the catheter. A first guidewire is deliverable through the penetration of the septal wall so that a distal end of the first guidewire is disposed within another chamber of the heart. A second guidewire is deliverable through the penetration of the external wall so that a distal end of the second guidewire is disposed externally of the external wall. The first guidewire is connectable to the second guidewire to join or form a path within the chamber that extends between the septal wall and the external wall.

Abstract: A system for treating a heart includes a catheter that is advanceable into a chamber of the heart and that is repositionable within the chamber between a septal wall and an external wall to enable penetration of the septal and external walls via a needle that is disposed within a lumen of the catheter. A first guidewire is deliverable through the penetration of the septal wall so that a distal end of the first guidewire is disposed within another chamber of the heart. A second guidewire is deliverable through the penetration of the external wall so that a distal end of the second guidewire is disposed externally of the external wall. The first guidewire is connectable to the second guidewire to join or form a path within the chamber that extends between the septal wall and the external wall.

Abstract: Devices and methods are described herein which are directed to the treatment of a patient's heart having, or one which is susceptible to heart failure, to improve diastolic function.

Abstract: Devices and methods are described herein which are directed to the treatment of a patient's heart having, or one which is susceptible to heart failure, to improve diastolic function.

Abstract: This invention is directed to a partitioning device for separating a chamber of a patient's heart into a productive portion and a non-productive portion. The device is particularly suitable for treating patients with congestive heart failure. The partitioning device has a frame-reinforced, expandable membrane which separates the productive and non-productive portions of the heart chamber. Elements of the frame include ribs that are secured to the expandable membrane, to form an integrated structure that may be unilaminar or bilaminar in form. The proximal ends of the ribs of the frame have tissue-penetrating elements about the periphery thereof which are configured to penetrate tissue lining the heart wall at an angle approximately perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the partitioning device. The partitioning device has a hub with a non-traumatic distal end to engage the ventricular wall.

Abstract: A system for improving cardiac function is provided. A foldable and expandable frame having at least one anchoring formation is attached to an elongate manipulator and placed in a catheter tube while folded. The tube is inserted into a left ventricle of a heart where the frame is ejected from the tube and expands in the left ventricle. Movements of the elongate manipulator cause the anchor to penetrate the heart muscle and the elongate manipulator to release the frame. The installed frame minimizes the effects of an akinetic portion of the heart forming an aneurysmic bulge.

Abstract: A system for improving cardiac function is provided. A foldable and expandable frame having at least one anchoring formation is attached to an elongate manipulator and placed in a catheter tube while folded. The tube is inserted into a left ventricle of a heart where the frame is ejected from the tube and expands in the left ventricle. Movements of the elongate manipulator cause the anchor to penetrate the heart muscle and the elongate manipulator to release the frame. The installed frame minimizes the effects of an akinetic portion of the heart forming an aneurysmic bulge.

Abstract: Devices and methods are described herein which are directed to the treatment of a patient's heart having, or one which is susceptible to heart failure, to improve diastolic function.

Abstract: This invention is directed to a partitioning device for separating a patient's heart chamber into a productive portion and a non-productive portion which is suitable for treating patients with heart disease, particularly congestive heart failure. The partitioning device has a reinforced membrane with outwardly biased members to help seal the periphery of the membrane against the wall of the patient's heart chamber. In one embodiment, the outwardly biased member is an expansive strand that extends between adjacent ribs of an expandable frame which reinforces the membrane. In another embodiment, the outwardly biased member is a hydrophilic body such as foam which swells upon contact with body fluid such as blood in the heart chamber. The reinforced membrane has a central hub with a distally extending support stem with a plurality of feet which extend radially from a centerline axis and preferably have ends that are aligned in a common plane.

Abstract: A system for improving cardiac function is provided. A foldable and expandable frame having at least one anchoring formation is attached to an elongate manipulator and placed in a catheter tube while folded. The tube is inserted into a left ventricle of a heart where the frame is ejected from the tube and expands in the left ventricle. Movements of the elongate manipulator cause the anchor to penetrate the heart muscle and the elongate manipulator to release the frame. The installed frame minimizes the effects of an akinetic portion of the heart forming an aneurysmic bulge.

Abstract: A method and device for the treatment of a patient with heart disease and particularly a heart chamber having a myocardial rupture or characteristics of an incipient myocardial rupture. The heart chamber is partitioned so as to isolate a non-productive portion having a rupture or a region of an incipient rupture from a productive portion. The heart chamber is preferably partitioned with a reinforced membrane which has a pressure receiving surface that defines part of the productive portion of the heart chamber. The peripheral base of the reinforced membrane may have an eccentric configuration.

Abstract: This invention is directed to a partitioning device for separating a patient's heart chamber into a productive portion and a non-productive portion. The device is particularly suitable for treating patients with congestive heart failure. The partitioning device has a frame-reinforced, expandable membrane which separates the productive and non-productive portions of the heart chamber. The proximal ends of the ribs of the frame have tissue penetrating elements about the periphery thereof which are configured to penetrate tissue lining the heart wall at an angle approximately perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the partitioning device. The partitioning device has a hub with a non-traumatic distal end to engage the ventricular wall.

Abstract: This invention is directed to a system and method for partitioning a patient's heart chamber into a productive portion and a non-productive portion which are particularly suitable for treating patients with congestive heart failure. The partitioning system has a plurality of partitioning devices with reinforced, expandable membranes which separate the productive and non-productive portions of the heart chamber. When deployed within the patient's heart chamber, the second partitioning device is off-set from the deployed first partitioning device to cover a region of the wall defining the patient's heart chamber which is not covered by the first partitioning device. The multiple partitioning devices may be independent from each other or may be interconnected, e.g. a tether or strand.

Abstract: This invention is directed to a partitioning device for separating a patient's heart chamber into a productive portion and a non-productive portion. The device is particularly suitable for treating patients with congestive heart failure. The partitioning device has a reinforced, expandable membrane which separates the productive and non-productive portions of the heart chamber and a support or spacing member extending between the reinforced membrane and the wall of the patient's heart chamber. The support or spacing member has a non-traumatic distal end to engage the ventricular wall.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for gathering and processing data sensed on an individual from portable heart monitors and accelerometers aligned along three orthogonal axes determine substantially equivalent oxygen consumption information during an individual's physical activities without requiring gas-flow or gas-analysis equipment. Such information promotes calculations of physiological energy expenditures, and analyses of the accelerometer data associated with a specific sensing location on an individual's body provide indication of the particular physical activity for selecting appropriate scaling factors and filtering requirements in analyzing the data to determine various parameters indicative of the individual's expenditure of physiological energy, and other health-oriented factors.

Abstract: Method and calculations determine an individual's, or several individuals' simultaneous rates of oxygen consumption, maximum rates of oxygen consumption, heart rates, calorie expenditures, and METS (multiples of metabolic resting rate) in order to determine the amounts of work that is performed by the individual's body. A heart monitor measures the heart rate, and an accelerometer measures the acceleration of the body along one or more axes. An altimeter measures change in altitude, a glucose monitor measures glucose in tissue and blood, and thermometers, thermistors, or thermocouples measure body temperature. Data including body fat and blood pressure measurements are stored locally and transferred to a processor for calculation of the rate of physiological energy expenditure. Certain cardiovascular parameters are mathematically determined.