Angiogenic treatment of ischemic heart disease

Abstract

Devices, methods, systems and procedures for localized, targeted treatment of angiogenic-based therapy in at least one region of interest in one or more layers of cardiac tissue. Various methods can include diagnosing a patient with ischemic heart disease or “at-risk” of manifesting ischemic heart disease, placing the patient into a specific angiogenic-based treatment therapy group, collecting image data, confirming image data and other diagnostic test results, developing a preoperative plan to target region of interest, inserting the catheter into a heart chamber, monitoring the distal end of the catheter tip within the heart on a visual display, contacting at least one layer of cardiac tissue, creating one or more channels in the heart tissue and/or administering the angiogenic-based therapy.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of treating an ischemic region of cardiac tissue of a heart of a subject, the method comprising the steps of:
 obtaining non-invasive image data of the subject, the non-invasive image data including a region of cardiac tissue,   analyzing the image data to preoperatively identify at least one ischemic region of cardiac tissue,   preoperatively identifying a first injection site within a first area of cardiac tissue proximate to the ischemic region of cardiac tissue,   operatively administering a therapeutically effective amount of a first composition comprising at least one angiogenic factor to the first injection site, wherein the administration of the angiogenic factor induces growth of blood vessels and angiogenesis within the first area of cardiac tissue proximate to the ischemic region of cardiac tissue.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first injection site is within the ischemic region of cardiac tissue. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first injection site is directly adjacent to the ischemic region of cardiac tissue. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first injection site is outside of the ischemic region of cardiac tissue. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the step of preoperatively identifying a second injection site within a second area of cardiac tissue, wherein the first injection site is within the ischemic region of cardiac tissue and the second injection site is outside of the ischemic region of cardiac tissue. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of operatively administering the therapeutically effective amount of the first composition comprises injecting the therapeutically effective amount of the first composition into the first area of cardiac tissue from a location outside of the heart. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of operatively administering the therapeutically effective amount of the first composition comprises injecting the therapeutically effective amount of the first composition into the first area of cardiac tissue from a location inside of the heart. 
     
     
         8 . A method of treating a patient having ischemic cardiac tissue resulting from diminished microvascular blood flow, comprising:
 obtaining non-invasive image data of cardiac tissue of the patient, analyzing the image data to identify the ischemic cardiac tissue;
 obtaining a composition comprising a. carrier solution combined with an angiogenic growth factor, 
 applying the composition to the anatomical structure of the patient proximate to the ischemic cardiac tissue, thereby inducing angiogenesis proximate to the composition. 
   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein at least a portion of the composition is applied within the ischemic cardiac tissue. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein at least a portion of the composition is applied outside of the ischemic cardiac tissue. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein at least a first portion of the composition is applied within the ischemic cardiac tissue and at least a second portion of the composition is applied outside of the ischemic cardiac tissue. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising accessing the anatomical structure via a percutaneous path through an inner surface of a heart of the patient. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising accessing the anatomical structure via an outer surface of a heart of the patient. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the carrier solution is capable of adhering to an anatomical structure of the patient. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the composition is contained within a biodegradable membrane 
     
     
         16 . A method of treating a region of cardiac tissue in a subject, the method comprising the steps of:
 obtaining preoperative non-invasive image data of the subject, the preoperative non-invasive image data including a region of cardiac tissue,   analyzing the preoperative non-invasive image data to preoperatively identify at least one at-risk region of cardiac tissue,   preoperatively identifying at least one abnormality a blood vessel supply to the at-risk region of cardiac tissue,   opertatively administering a therapeutically effective amount of a first composition comprising at least one angiogenic factor proximate to the at least one abnormality, wherein the administration of the angiogenic factor induces growth of supplemental blood vessels proximate to the abnormality.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the step of administration of the angiogenic factor induces growth of blood vessels proximate to the abnormality, wherein at least a portion of the blood vessel supply to the at-risk region of cardiac tissue is redirected through the supplemental blood vessels. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the abnormality is located within the at-risk region of cardiac tissue. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the abnormality is located within the region of cardiac tissue. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising the steps of
 obtaining postoperative non-invasive image data of the subject, the post-operative non-invasive image data including the at-risk region of cardiac tissue,   analyzing the post-operative non-invasive image data to identify any improvement in the blood vessel supply to the at-risk region of cardiac tissue.