Patent ID: 7445632

Claim:
A valve configured for insertion on the proximal and distal sides of a heart valve annulus to replace the heart valve of a patient, the valve comprising: a first substantially annular portion adapted to be positioned on a first side of the annulus of a patient, the first portion movable from an elongated reduced profile position for insertion to a substantially annular position for placement; a second substantially annular portion adapted to be positioned on a second side of the annulus of a patient, at least one of the first and second substantially annular portions being movable towards the other portion to a clamped position to clamp around the annulus, the second substantially annular portion having a flow restricting portion extending therefrom and movable between a first position to permit the flow of blood and a second position to restrict the flow of blood, the second portion and flow restricting portion movable from an elongated reduced profile position for insertion to a substantially annular position for placement; the first and second portions being comprised of unitary wire, the unitary wire including an arcuate wire segment extending between the first and second portions, the wire biasing the first and second portions toward each other in the substantially annular position, and the first and second annular portions each circumscribe a segment greater than 360 degrees to form an overlapping segment, and the arcuate wire segment extends along an arc greater than 90 degrees.