Patent ID: 7942865

Claim:
A guide catheter for cannulating a coronary sinus from a superior vena cava, the guide catheter comprising: a flexible elongate shaft having a proximal portion, a middle portion and a distal portion terminating in a distal tip, the distal portion having a preformed shape configured such that the distal portion of the shaft is supported on a wall of the superior vena cava when locating an ostium of the coronary sinus with the distal tip, the preformed shape of the distal portion lying in a single plane and defined at least by: a first arc adjacent the middle portion and having a first arc radius ranging from approximately 3 to approximately 4 inches; a second arc distally adjacent the first arc and having a second arc radius ranging from approximately 1.2 to approximately 1.8 inches; a third arc distally adjacent the second arc and having a third arc radius ranging from approximately 2.2 to approximately 3.7 inches; a fourth arc distally adjacent the third arc and having a fourth arc radius ranging from approximately 1 to approximately 1.5 inches; and a generally straight terminal portion adjacent the fourth arc and having a length ranging from approximately 0.4 to approximately 1.81 inches.