Patent ID: 9681949
Date: 2017-06-20
CPC Classifications: A61F

Claim:
1. A method of implanting a prosthetic heart valve within a native valve annulus of a patient, the prosthetic heart valve including a stent body having an inflow end and an outflow end, a valve element mounted within the stent body and operative to allow flow through the stent body in an antegrade direction from the inflow end towards the outflow end but to substantially block flow through the stent body in a retrograde direction, and a cuff connected to the stent body and including an inner wall adjacent the stent body and an outer wall disposed radially outwardly from the inner wall, the method comprising: inserting the prosthetic heart valve in a collapsed condition percutaneously to the vicinity of the native valve annulus of the patient using a delivery device; and positioning and deploying the prosthetic heart valve so that the prosthetic heart valve moves from the collapsed condition to an expanded condition, so that in the expanded condition the inner wall and the outer wall together define at least one pocket and the inner wall and an edge of the outer wall define a plurality of openings facing in the antegrade direction adjacent the inflow end, all of the openings being disposed in a single row extending in a circumferential direction around the stent body, and so that the outer wall of the cuff is disposed within the native valve annulus and a flow of blood outside of the stent body in the retrograde direction can enter the at least one pocket through at least one of the openings and bias the outer wall of the pocket outwardly into engagement with the native valve annulus.