Patent ID: 8403983

Claim:
A replacement heart valve, comprising: a valve body comprising an outer layer and an inner layer; the outer layer being tubular and having a longitudinal axis, an upstream end and a downstream end, the outer layer formed from a thin, flexible material; the inner layer being generally tubular, having a longitudinal axis generally collinear with the outer layer, and being positioned within the tubular outer layer, the inner layer formed from a thin, flexible material and defining a plurality of leaflets adapted to move between an open state and a coapted state, each leaflet having a side edge and a downstream portion, adjacent leaflets of the inner layer being connected by a commissural portion; wherein the leaflets are attached to the outer layer along the leaflet side edges, and the commissural portions are attached to the outer layer downstream of at least a portion of the leaflet side edges; and an elongate frame that can be radially compacted to a compacted state and radially expanded to an expanded state, the frame made up of a plurality of struts and having a longitudinal axis, the valve body being attached to the frame struts by a plurality of stitches; wherein at least one of the plurality of stitches is a loose stitch configured to freely slide over the corresponding strut when the frame is radially compacted or expanded.