Patent ID: 6986775

Claim:
A method constricting a heart valve annulus, the method comprising: introducing a tethered clip assembly to the annulus, the tethered clip assembly comprising a plurality of clips coupled with a tether, the plurality of clips comprising a first clip, an intermediate clip, and a terminal clip, wherein the first clip and a lead end of the tether are constructed to prevent the first clip from moving distally past the lead end of the tether, and wherein one or more of the remaining clips are slidably coupled to the tether, the introducing step comprising passing the tethered clip assembly through an elongate shaft and a curved distal end portion of the elongate shaft; securing individual clips at circumferentially spaced-apart locations about at least a portion of the annulus including the first clip, a series of intermediate clips, and a terminal clip; cinching the tether through the clips to circumferentially tighten the annulus; and preventing the terminal clip from moving proximally past a chosen location along the tether after the cinching step.