Patent ID: 8709074

Claim:
A method of treating dilatation of a mitral valve annulus, comprising: advancing a catheter into a coronary sinus, the catheter carrying an expandable implant that is in a radially collapsed configuration during the advancing, the implant comprising a distal portion, a proximal portion, and a central portion, the implant having a length extending from a proximal end to a distal end of the implant; positioning the implant in a desired location in the coronary sinus; expanding the distal and proximal implant sections of the implant in the coronary sinus; permitting the distal and proximal implant sections to become endothelialized in the coronary sinus; and after permitting the distal and proximal implant sections to become endothelialized, decreasing the length of the implant by radially expanding the central section of the implant, thereby altering a shape of the coronary sinus by decreasing the length of the implant, thereby reducing a circumference of the mitral valve annulus.