Patent ID: 7500946

Claim:
An apparatus for delivering a cardiac harness, comprising: a cardiac harness configured to conform generally to and apply a compressive force to at least a portion of a patient's heart; an elongate body having a proximal portion and a distal portion, the body having a cavity sized to contain the harness in a compacted configuration; a plurality of elongate push rods longitudinally movable with respect to the body, a side of the cardiac harness releasably connected to a longitudinal side of each of the push rods at at least two locations such that advancement of the push rods in a distal direction moves the cardiac harness from the compacted configuration in the cavity to an expanded configuration outside the cavity for mounting the cardiac harness on the heart; and a limiting member configured to limit the distal movement of the elongate push rods beyond a predetermined point so that the distal movement of the cardiac harness relative to the heart is limited.