Patent ID: 7947072

Claim:
A two-part prosthetic heart valve, comprising: an expandable tubular primary stent sized to contact a heart valve annulus in an expanded state and having a first plurality of discrete mating features, wherein the tubular primary stent comprises a stent body having a first, contracted configuration in which the stent body is spirally-wound about an axis such that at least one winding of the stent body overlaps another winding, and a second, expanded configuration in which the stent body is substantially unwound and at least partly forms a tube centered about the axis and sized to engage the patient's heart valve annulus from within; an expandable secondary stent configured to be coupled to the primary stent and having a second plurality of discrete mating features that mate with the first plurality of discrete mating features on the primary stent; a plurality of valve leaflets attached to the secondary stent for occluding blood flow in one direction; and a plurality of guidewires each threaded through the secondary stent and then coupled to the primary stent for ensuring proper rotational alignment during advancement of the secondary stent toward the primary stent so that the first and second pluralities of discrete mating features on both the primary stent and secondary stent engage each other.