Patent ID: 7419466

Claim:
A cardiac jacket releasably mounted to a device for delivery of the cardiac jacket, comprising: a cardiac jacket for constraining expansion of a heart, the jacket having an open upper end portion, an open lower end portion, a length and an internal volume sized to fit around a lower portion of a heart; a tubular member having an open distal end exposing a tube interior sized to at least partially contain the cardiac jacket; and a plurality of rods releasably connected to the open upper end portion of the cardiac jacket and movable longitudinally relative to said tubular member between a retracted position with at least portions of the cardiac jacket collapsed and contained within the tubular member and an open position out of said distal end supporting the upper end portion of the cardiac jacket in a circular array, wherein the rods have lengths and shapes in the open position defining a volume at least as great as the internal volume of the cardiac jacket to enable the jacket to be slipped, upper end portion first, around the lower portion of the heart.