VALVE ASSEMBLY FOR CRIMP PROFILE

摘要

A method of assembling a prosthetic heart valve (100) includes providing a collapsible and expandable stent (102) having an annulus section (110) and an aortic section (111). The annulus section has a first diameter in a relaxed condition and a second diameter less than the first diameter in a collapsed condition. A constraint (510) is applied to the stent to constrain the annulus section to a predetermined diameter between the first and second diameters. Applying a cuff (106) and/or a plurality of leaflets (108) to the stent in the constrained condition enables less material to be used. The resultant prosthetic valve is therefore able to be collapsed to a smaller diameter for introduction into a patient.