Patent ID: 7291139

Claim:
A method of delivering cardioplegia to a heart vessel, comprising the steps of: A. positioning a distal end of a cannula within the heart vessel; B. conducting a flow of pressurized cardioplegia through an infusion lumen of the cannula and discharging the cardioplegia into the heart vessel; C. communicating the infusion lumen through a passage arrangement with a balloon disposed on the distal end, during step B, to cause the cardioplegia to inflate the balloon into sealing contact with a wall of the heart vessel; D. halting the flow of cardioplegia through the infusion lumen while preventing drainage of cardioplegia from the balloon by causing a valve to move to a closed position closing the passage arrangement between the balloon and the infusion lumen to maintain the balloon in its inflated state with and without cardioplegia flowing in the infusion lumen; and E. then conducting a flow of pressurized cardioplegia through the infusion lumen of the cannula and discharging the cardioplegia into the heart vessel, while the valve is closed and the balloon is in its inflated state.