Patent ID: 7510569

Claim:
A method of reducing the potential for myocardial infarction or ischemic myocardial damage resulting from an angioplasty procedure wherein a catheter that has an angioplasty balloon is positioned in a coronary blood vessel and its angioplasty balloon is inflated to perform a therapeutic angioplasty procedure while incidentally causing a temporary decrease in blood flow to the myocardium, said method comprising the steps of: (A) inserting a heat exchange catheter having a heat exchange region into the inferior or superior vena cava of a patient; (B) exchanging heat with the blood at the heat exchange region; (C) maintaining the step of exchanging heat for a sufficient length of time to cool the myocardium to a cooled temperature at which the potential for infarction or ischemic damage due to the temporary decrease in blood flow is lessened; and (D) thereafter, inflating the angioplasty balloon to perform the therapeutic angioplasty.