Patent ID: 9532868
Date: 2017-01-03
CPC Classifications: A61F

Claim:
1. A prosthetic heart valve comprising: an annular structure having an annular perimeter that is changeable in length between (1) a first relatively small length suitable for delivery of the valve into a patient with reduced invasiveness, and (2) a second relatively large length suitable for use of the annular structure to engage tissue of the patient adjacent to the patient's native aortic valve annulus and also in the patient's aorta, the annular structure including an annularly continuous annulus portion adapted for implanting adjacent the patient's native aortic valve annulus upstream from the ostia of the patient's coronary arteries, and an annularly continuous aortic portion adapted for implanting in the patient's aorta, the annulus portion and the aortic portion being connected to one another only by a plurality of linking structures, the annulus portion and the aortic portion each including an annular array of diamond-shaped cells, each cell having an upstream apex portion directly connected to a downstream apex portion at connection points, the upstream apex portion having an upstream apex aligned with a downstream apex of the downstream apex portion in a longitudinal direction of the annular structure, each of the linking structures having a first end connected directly to the upstream apex of one of the cells in the aortic portion, the first ends being spaced from one another in an annular direction of the aortic portion, and each of the linking structures having a second end connected to the cells in the annulus portion, the second ends being spaced from one another in an annular direction of the annulus portion; a cuff extending annularly around the annulus portion and having a first annular edge positioned downstream of the upstream apices and a second annular edge positioned upstream of the downstream apices; and a flexible leaflet structure attached to the annular structure, wherein the upstream apex portion of each cell in a group of the cells in the annulus portion is resiliently biased to deflect radially outwardly from the connection points, and the downstream apex portion of each cell in the group of the cells is resiliently biased to deflect radially outwardly from the connection points, whereby each cell in the group of the cells, in use, clamps tissue of the patient adjacent to the patient's native valve annulus between the upstream apex portion of the cell and the downstream apex portion of the cell, with the upstream apex portion of the cell engaging tissue upstream from the native valve annulus and the downstream apex portion of the cell engaging tissue downstream from the native valve annulus.