Pulmonary arterial compliance enhancement and control device

Abstract

Devices and methods for increasing a patient's pulmonary arterial compliance are disclosed. The devices include catheters designed to create a connection between a patient's venous anatomy and the patient's pulmonary artery. With the arteriovenous connection various devices can be implanted in order to increase the volumetric compliance of the pulmonary artery. The devices include collapsible and expandable mechanisms which allow the effective pulmonary arterial volume to expand during systole and contract during diastole. The devices may include a balloon or balloon-like implants which cyclically shuttle a working fluid from the pulmonary artery to the vein and back. The devices may be adjustable to provide desired hemodynamic benefits. Methods are disclosed for making and using the inventive devices.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A device for treating heart failure by increasing a patient's pulmonary arterial compliance, the device comprising:
 an inflatable balloon with a first chamber residing in a vein and a second chamber residing in a pulmonary artery; and   wherein the inflatable balloon configured to be positioned across an opening created between the vein and the pulmonary artery, wherein the second chamber is configured to reversibly collapse when a pulmonary artery pressure increases, and expand when the pulmonary artery pressure decreases.   
     
     
         2 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the inflatable balloon further comprises a waist section situated between the first chamber and the second chamber. 
     
     
         3 . The device of  claim 2 , wherein the waist section is configured to allow a fluid to pass from the first chamber to the second chamber. 
     
     
         4 . The device of  claim 3 , wherein the waist section is configured to seal the opening between the vein and the pulmonary artery in order to prevent blood flow through the opening. 
     
     
         5 . A device for treating heart failure by increasing a patient's pulmonary arterial compliance, the device comprising:
 a catheter system configured to create an opening between a superior vena cava and a pulmonary artery;   an inflatable balloon with a first chamber residing in the superior vena cava, and a second chamber residing in the pulmonary artery, wherein the inflatable balloon is configured to be positioned across the opening between the superior vena cava and the pulmonary artery;   wherein the pulmonary artery experiencing a first blood pressure and a second blood pressure during a cardiac cycle, the second blood pressure higher than the first blood pressure; and   wherein the second chamber is configured to reversibly collapse when the pulmonary artery experiences the second blood pressure, and reversibly expand when the pulmonary artery experiences the first blood pressure.   
     
     
         6 . The device of  claim 5 , wherein the inflatable balloon is further configured to reversibly shuttle an inflation fluid between the first chamber and the second chamber during the cardiac cycle. 
     
     
         7 . The device of  claim 6 , wherein the inflation fluid comprises a gas. 
     
     
         8 . The device of  claim 6 , wherein the first chamber is configured to expand when the second chamber collapses, and contract when the second chamber expands. 
     
     
         9 . The device of  claim 5 , wherein the first chamber is configured to expand when the inflatable balloon is filled with an amount of an inflation fluid, 
     
     
         10 . The device of  claim 9 , wherein the first chamber is configured to exert a pressure on the inflation fluid proportional to the amount of the inflation fluid filling the balloon. 
     
     
         11 . The device of  claim 10  wherein the amount of the inflation fluid is adjusted in order to control the pressure exerted on the inflation fluid. 
     
     
         12 . The device of  claim 11  further comprises a waist section positioned across the opening between the superior vena cava and the pulmonary artery, wherein the waist section is configured to allow the inflation fluid passing between the first chamber and the second chamber. 
     
     
         13 . The device of  claim 12 , wherein the second chamber is configured to collapse when the blood pressure in the pulmonary artery exceeds the amount of pressure exerted by the first chamber on the inflation fluid. 
     
     
         14 . The device of  claim 12 , wherein the second chamber is configured to expand when the blood pressure in the pulmonary artery is lower than the amount of pressure exerted by the first chamber on the inflation fluid. 
     
     
         15 . A device for treating heart failure by increasing a patient's pulmonary arterial compliance, the device comprising:
 a catheter system configured to create an opening between a superior vena cava and a pulmonary artery;   an implantable device for maintaining the opening and is configured to seal the opening in order to allow an amount of fluid to reversibly flow through the opening between the superior vena cava and the pulmonary artery; and   a covered stent-like structure configured to be implanted into the pulmonary artery and further configured with a reversibly expandable and collapsible section designed to expand when the blood pressure in the pulmonary artery increases and to collapse when the blood pressure in the pulmonary artery decreases.