Patent ID: 7404824

Claim:
An apparatus comprising: a tether having a length configured for extending through a ventricle of a heart from, at a proximal end, an atrioventricular valve annulus to, at a distal end, one of a wall of a ventricle and a papillary muscle within the ventricle; an aptation device coupled about an axis of the tether at a position corresponding to a location to contact cusps of an atrioventricular valve during systole, the aptation device comprising a body having a cross-sectional dimension greater than a cross-sectional dimension of the tether and that is deformable in response to forces applied to the aption device by cusps of an atrioventricular valve; and a fastening member coupled to the tether including a projection capable of anchoring the fastening member to a wall of a ventricle of a heart, wherein the tether and aptation device are suitable for percutaneous delivery to a patient, and wherein the tether extends through the aptation device and the distal end of the tether extends beyond a distal end of the aptation device.