Patent ID: 7241310

Claim:
An assembly for reducing mitral regurgitation, the assembly comprising: a flexible delivery catheter for insertion into a coronary sinus of a patient in a vicinity of a posterior leaflet portion of a mitral valve; structure for anchoring a distal end of said catheter in the coronary sinus; a generally flexible push rod adapted for passage through said delivery catheter; and an elongated substantially straight rod portion comprising a portion of said push rod and defining a more rigid portion of the length of said generally flexible push rod and disposed proximal to a distal end of said push rod and configured for moving through said catheter and into a position within said catheter and in the vicinity of the posterior leaflet portion of the mitral valve, said elongated substantially straight rod portion being of a metallic material more rigid than tissue proximate the posterior leaflet portion of the mitral valve, and being sized whereby to straighten a natural curvature of at least a portion of the coronary sinus in the vicinity of the posterior leaflet portion of the mitral valve, to move a posterior annulus portion of the mitral valve anteriorly and thereby improve coaptation between the posterior leaflet and an anterior leaflet portion of the mitral valve.