Collapsible-expandable prosthetic heart valves with structures for clamping native tissue

摘要

A prosthetic heart valve is designed to be circumferentially collapsible for less invasive delivery into the patient. At the implant site the valve re-expands to a larger circumferential size, i.e., the size that it has for operation as a replacement for one of the patient's native heart valves. The valve includes structures that, at the implant site, extend radially outwardly to engage tissue structures above and below the native heart valve annulus. These radially outwardly extending structures clamp the native tissue between them and thereby help to anchor the prosthetic valve at the desired location in the patient.

主权项

1. A prosthetic heart valve comprising:
an annular structure that is annularly continuous and that has an annular perimeter that is changeable in length between (1) a first relatively small length suitable for delivery of the valve into a patient with reduced invasiveness, and (2) a second relatively large length suitable for use of the annular structure to engage tissue of the patient adjacent to the patient's native valve annulus and thereby implant the valve in the patient; and a flexible leaflet structure attached to the annular structure; wherein the annular structure comprises an annular array of diamond-shaped cells, upstream apex portions of at least some of the cells being resiliently biased to deflect radially outwardly from at least some other portion of the annular structure forming a line circumscribing the annular structure, and downstream apex portions of at least some of the cells being resiliently biased to deflect radially outwardly from said at least some other portion of the annular structure forming the line circumscribing the annular structure; whereby, in use, tissue of the patient adjacent to the patient's native valve annulus is clamped between the upstream and downstream apex portions, with the upstream apex portions engaging tissue upstream from the annulus, and with the downstream apex portions engaging tissue downstream from the annulus.