an angle u03b1 ranging from about 90 degrees to about 130 degrees which aids in cannulation of small veins that are generally skew to a larger vein used for catheterization one example of this anatomical relationship is the junction of the left pericardiophrenic vein with the left brachiocephalic vein the external and internal surfaces of the catheter 130 may be treated with lubricious coatings that facilitate lead and wire passage not shown through the catheter as well as catheter advancement fig5 is a plan view of a dilator in accordance with embodiments of the invention the tapered guide catheter 130 is introduced into the venous system utilizing a catheter dilator 150 as illustrated in fig5 the dilator in one example is about 45 cm which is about 10 centimeters longer than the exemplary catheter 130 described above however other lengths of dilators and the catheters are also contemplated the dilator 150 is utilized to gain entry into the venous system through percutaneous methods the dilator 150 is sized to slide within the catheter 130 the proximal end 152 of the dilator 150 is fitted with a standard hub 154 that allows the dilator 150 to be flushed the lumen of the dilator 150 of one embodiment is sized to accept a 0 038 u2033 diameter guide wire not shown however the size of the lumen of the dilator 150 can vary to accept different diameter guide wires the dilator can also have a tapered tip 156 at a distal end 158 with material transition points 160 and 162 that result in a soft and flexible tip 156 while the body of the dilator is stiff.