A pericardial needle that punctures a pericardial membrane to attain access into a pericardial space of a heart by advancing a sharp tip until the sharp tip is adjacent to or in contact with a parietal pericardium of the heart such that the puncturing does not damage the heart muscle. The pericardial needle punctures the parietal pericardium when the heart muscle moves towards the pericardial needle, away from the pericardial needle, is at rest and/or is in synchronization with the systolic contraction period of the cardiac cycle of the heart. The synchronization may be provided based on a surface electrocardiogram, an arterial pressure, or a sensing pressure at the tip of the pericardial needle when the pericardial needle is adjacent into the parietal pericardium of the heart.
