A method and devices for relieving pressure in the left atrium of a patient's heart is disclosed. The method includes using an ablative catheter in a minimally invasive procedure to prepare an opening from the coronary sinus into a left atrium of the patient's heart. Once the opening is prepared, the opening may be enlarged by a technique such as expanding a balloon within the opening. A stent is then placed within the coronary sinus of the patient, with a transverse portion expanding within the opening, allowing blood to flow from the left atrium to the coronary sinus and then to the right atrium. Pressure within the left atrium is thus relieved.

Methods and devices are disclosed that enable safe, rapid and relatively short and straight access to the cerebral arteries for the introduction of interventional devices to treat acute ischemic stroke. In addition, the disclosed methods and devices provide means to securely close the access site to the cerebral arteries to avoid the potentially devastating consequences of a transcervical hematoma.

A method of delivering a therapeutic substance for treatment to a region of the body through vascular isolation and manipulation of fluid flux into and from the region of the body including the steps of: restricting vascular inflow to the region of the body; washing out oncotically active plasma proteins from the region of the body by increasing the outward oncotic pressure gradient from the region of the body; inducing ischemia in the region of the body; controlling the pressure and fluid flow of the main blood vessels to and from the region of the body; providing the therapeutic substance to the region of the body when the fluid flow to the region of the body is controlled.

Interventional procedures on the carotid arteries are performed through a transcervical access while retrograde blood flow is established from the internal carotid artery to a venous or external location. A system for use in accessing and treating a carotid artery includes an arterial access device, a shunt fluidly connected to the arterial access device, and a flow control assembly coupled to the shunt and adapted to regulate blood flow through the shunt between at least a first blood flow state and at least a second blood flow state. The flow control assembly includes one or more components that interact with the blood flow through the shunt.

One disclosed embodiment comprises a method for treating lesions in the carotid artery of a mammalian body. The method comprises transcervical access and blocking of blood flow through the common carotid artery (with or without blocking of blood flow through the external carotid artery), shunting blood from the internal carotid artery and treating the lesion in the carotid artery.

Interventional procedures on the carotid arteries are performed through a transcervical access while retrograde blood flow is established from the internal carotid artery to a venous or external location. A system for use in accessing and treating a carotid artery includes an arterial access device, a shunt fluidly connected to the arterial access device, and a flow control assembly coupled to the shunt and adapted to regulate blood flow through the shunt between at least a first blood flow state and at least a second blood flow state. The flow control assembly includes one or more components that interact with the blood flow through the shunt.

An interventional catheter is adapted for treating a blood vessel. In an embodiment, the catheter includes an elongate shaft sized for insertion in a blood vessel and a stent positioned on a distal region of the elongate shaft. An expandable dilation member is coupled to a distal region of the elongate shaft. The expandable dilation member is adapted to expand outward. A stent containment member is positioned over the elongate shaft and the stent to contain the stent in a collapsed state.

Methods and devices are disclosed that enable safe, rapid and relatively short and straight access to the cerebral arteries for the introduction of interventional devices to treat acute ischemic stroke. In addition, the disclosed methods and devices provide means to securely close the access site to the cerebral arteries to avoid the potentially devastating consequences of a transcervical hematoma.

One disclosed embodiment comprises a method for treating lesions in the carotid artery of a mammalian body. The method comprises transcervical access and blocking of blood flow through the common carotid artery (with or without blocking of blood flow through the external carotid artery), shunting blood from the internal carotid artery and treating the lesion in the carotid artery.

Devices and methods establish and facilitate retrograde or reverse flow blood circulation in the region of the carotid artery bifurcation in order to limit or prevent the release of emboli into the cerebral vasculature such as into the internal carotid artery. The methods are particularly useful for interventional procedures performed through a transcarotid approach or transfemoral into the common carotid artery.