Prosthetic heart valves

Abstract

A prosthetic heart valve (e.g., a prosthetic aortic valve) is designed to be somewhat circumferentially collapsible and then re-expandable. The collapsed condition may be used for less invasive delivery of the valve into a patient. When the valve reaches the implant site in the patient, it re-expands to normal operating size, and also to engage surrounding tissue of the patient. The valve includes a stent portion and a ring portion that is substantially concentric with the stent portion but downstream from the stent portion in the direction of blood flow through the implanted valve. When the valve is implanted, the stent portion engages the patient's tissue at or near the native valve annulus, while the ring portion engages tissue downstream from the native valve site (e.g., the aorta).

Description

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional patent application 60 / 933,274, filed Jun. 4, 2007, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] This invention relates to prosthetic heart valves. For the most part, the invention will be illustratively described in the context of a prosthetic aortic valve that can be temporarily collapsed during a portion of the implantation procedure, and that can be subsequently expanded to its full size at the implantation site. The invention is not necessarily limited to this particular type of use, however, and it will be appreciated that various aspects of the invention can be used in other ways and / or in other contexts.

[0003] Many people with severe aortic stenosis go untreated because they are not considered to be suitable candidates for aortic valve replacement using the known prostheses and procedures (e.g., open-chest, open-heart surgery). In an attempt to provide ways of tre...

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