Patent ID: 7452325

Claim:
A method of reducing the volume of a heart ventricle, comprising: introducing a catheter into the heart ventricle though the aorta; advancing a tissue-penetrating tip of said catheter to penetrate an interior surface of the ventricle wall; creating a channel within said wall by further advancing said catheter; depositing a tissue-remodeling clip within said channel, said clip having a first end and a second end, said first and second ends resiliently biased to move towards one another to move associated first and second tissue portions of the ventricle wall toward one another, thereby reducing the volume of the ventricle; wherein said catheter comprises an access catheter body and a delivery catheter body, the method additionally comprising positioning a distal end surface of said access catheter body adjacent a desired implantation site on the ventricle wall and inflating an annular balloon carried by a distal end of said access catheter body, said balloon configured to space said distal end surface away from the ventricle wall.