Patent ID: 7445631

Claim:
Apparatus for replacing a native aortic valve, the apparatus comprising: an expandable anchor adapted to be endovascularly delivered and secured at an anchor site within the native aortic valve, the expandable anchor having a delivery length in a delivery configuration substantially greater than a deployed length in a deployed configuration, a proximal end, and a distal end; and a replacement valve configured to be secured within the anchor, wherein the anchor delivery length is between about 15 mm and about 150 mm and the anchor deployed length is between about 2 mm and about 40 mm, wherein a deployment system is reversibly coupled to the proximal end of the anchor and to a distal region of the anchor, and wherein the deployment system is adapted to apply a distally directed force on the proximal end of the anchor and a proximally directed force on the distal end of the anchor to foreshorten the anchor.