Patent ID: 8391996

Claim:
A cardiac treatment apparatus, comprising: a catheter having a catheter body configured to be introduced into a heart chamber through vasculature, said catheter comprising a clip having first and second end portions, said clip movably mounted in said catheter body such that one end portion of said catheter body is configured to enter an interior surface of a wall of said heart and create a channel having a length at least substantially equal to the clip's length within said wall that does not pass through an exterior surface of the wall to introduce at least a substantial portion of said clip into said channel and said wall, wherein at least an intermediate portion of said clip is embedded in said wall, no portion of said clip passes through the exterior surface of said wall, and said first and second end portions of said clip are resiliently biased to move relative to each other such that said movement of said first and second end portions draws tissue portions towards each other.