Patent ID: 8226710

Claim:
A valve prosthesis comprising: a valve body comprising a plurality of leaflets affixed to a skirt, adjoining leaflets affixed together to form commissures; and a frame supporting the valve body, the frame having an outflow diameter and a constriction diameter, wherein the constriction diameter is smaller than the outflow diameter, wherein the commissures are affixed along a region of the frame between the outflow diameter and the constriction diameter that is sized to increase in diameter along the longitudinal axis in a direction towards an outflow end of the frame, wherein each leaflet has a free edge that is suspended from the leaflet's respective commissures to define coaptation edges and a center of coaptation, wherein the constriction diameter is substantially longitudinally aligned with the center of coaptation, wherein the commissures are longitudinally offset from the center of coaptation, and wherein the length of each free edge forms a substantially continuous curve extending downwardly between the respective commissures so that the free edges of the leaflets generally define the shape of catenaries to substantially uniformly distribute loads over the leaflets.