Selective pressure-regulated retroinfusion of coronary veins as an alternative access of ischemic myocardium: implications for myocardial protection, myocardial gene transfer and angiogenesis.

There is renewed interest in the coronary venous system as an alternative access to ischemic myocardium. Selective pressure-regulated retroinfusion is a catheter-based approach which has been shown to increase the efficacy of retrograde oxygen delivery and drugs in experimental and clinical studies. Selective pressure-regulated retroinfusion may also target retrograde delivery of angiogenic growth factors and gene vectors to ischemic myocardium.