| abstract |
Revascularization of an ischemic myocardium is achieved through the stimulation of angiogenesis (new blood vessel formation) by causing an injury to the heart via puncturing and traversing the ischemic myocardium from the epicardium to the endocardium simultaneously, at a plurality of spaced apart sites, with a plurality of needles, and simultaneously withdrawing the plurality of needles from the punctured ischemic myocardium; the technique and the device have advantages over the use of lasers for this purpose an additional advantage is that the revascularization can be performed without open chest surgery or conventional sternotomy although it can also be employed in conjunction with these surgical procedures; thus, by way of example, the revascularization can be performed transthoracically; with a t sternotomy, a thoractomy incision or thoracoscopically; the puncturing operation may also be employed in myogenesis of a myocardium by delivery of desired agents to the myocardium through the puncturing needles; such myogenesis may be carried out simultaneously with revascularization of an ischemic or failing myocardium or as an independent operation. |