A method for transcatheter delivery to a native heart valve needing replacement. A first component is attached to the native annulus upstream of the native leaflets maintaining native leaflet function, and is held to the native annulus by barbs that are activated by a torus balloon after the first component is fully expanded. The torus balloon can be implanted along with the support frame. A limiting cable restricts further expansion of the first component and holds a second component that contains the replacement leaflets.

A suture rigging assembly for use with a prosthetic heart valve delivery device includes a coupling ring having a plurality of apertures, and at least one tether coupled to the apertures of the coupling ring and extending distally therefrom. Each tether is formed by two lengths of suture thread, the lengths of suture thread joined together at a position spaced from the coupling ring, and a second joining of the lengths of suture thread forming an attachment loop at the distal end of the tether. The first connection in the tethers collectively define the shortest and longest lengths of each of the tethers, and the attachment loops provide a mechanism to releasably attach the tethers to a prosthetic heart valve. Optionally, knots can be used to join the tethers and one or more tethers may include a radiopaque marker secured thereon between two knots.

Embodiments of a prosthetic heart valve are disclosed. An implantable prosthetic valve can include an annular frame having an inflow end, an outflow end and a central longitudinal axis extending from the inflow end to the outflow end. The valve can include a valvular structure including two or more leaflets, each of the two or more leaflets having a leaflet inflow edge positioned at least partially outside of the frame and a leaflet outflow edge positioned within the frame, wherein at least a portion of each of the leaflet inflow edges is unsupported by the frame.

Prosthetic mitral valves described herein can be deployed using a transcatheter mitral valve delivery system and technique to interface and anchor in cooperation with the anatomical structures of a native mitral valve. This document describes prosthetic heart valve designs and techniques to manage blood flow through the left ventricular outflow tract. For example, this document describes prosthetic heart valve designs and techniques that reduce or prevent obstructions of the left ventricular outflow tract that may otherwise result from systolic anterior motion of an anterior leaflet of the native mitral valve.

A replacement heart valve system and a method of implanting a replacement heart valve in a patient. The replacement heart valve system includes a radially self-expandable tubular body and a valve including a plurality of leaflets coupled to the tubular body. The tubular body includes interconnected struts defining circumferential rows of cells, and has an outflow end and an inflow end that flares radially outward so as to have a larger outer diameter than that of the outflow end. A first row of proximal-most cells formed at the inflow end includes circumferentially adjacent cells that are disconnected from each other so as to be spaced from each other in the circumferential direction. A method of implanting the replacement heart valve includes delivering from a delivery catheter the tubular body, and expanding the tubular body such that the proximal-most cells are disposed against the native heart valve annulus.

Apparatus and methods are described including a docking element (20) configured to be implanted within a subject's left atrium such that no portion of the docking element (20) extends through the subject's mitral valve. The docking element (20) includes a ring (40), a frame (24) extending upwardly from the ring (40), and a radial protrusion (50) configured to extend radially outwardly from the frame, to be disposed in a vicinity of the subject's native mitral annulus, and to generate tissue ingrowth to the radial protrusion from walls of the left atrium at least in the vicinity of the subject's native mitral annulus. A bridging material (56), which is disposed between radial protrusion (50) and the ring (40), forms a seal between the radial protrusion (50) and the ring (40). Other applications are also described.

In a representative embodiment, a method comprises implanting first and second inflatable bodies within an annulus of a native heart valve by securing the inflatable bodies to tissue of the native heart valve with sutures, and implanting a prosthetic heart valve between the inflatable bodies such that the prosthetic heart valve is retained within the annulus by the inflatable bodies.

A heart valve prosthesis that can be quickly and easily implanted during a surgical procedure is provided. The prosthetic valve has a base stent that is deployed at a treatment site, and a valve component configured to quickly connect to the base stent. The base stent may take the form of a self- or balloon-expandable stent that expands outward against the native valve with or without leaflet excision. The valve component has a non-expandable prosthetic valve and a self- or balloon-expandable coupling stent for attachment to the base stent, thereby fixing the position of the valve component relative to the base stent. The prosthetic valve may be a commercially available to valve with a sewing ring and the coupling stent attaches to the sewing ring. The system is particularly suited for rapid deployment of heart valves in a conventional open-heart surgical environment. A catheter-based system and method for deployment is provided.

Systems and methods for native heart valve repair includes an anchor. The anchor includes an anchor body configured to transition from a first configuration, in which the anchor body is straightened for transvascular delivery to the native heart valve, to a second configuration comprising at least two turns for implanting at the native heart valve. Two or more of the at least two turns in the second configuration have a diameter smaller than a major axis of the native heart valve.

A method of assembling a prosthetic heart valve includes providing a collapsible and expandable stent having an annulus section and an aortic section. 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 is applied to the stent to constrain the annulus section to a predetermined diameter between the first and second diameters. Applying a cuff and/or a plurality of leaflets 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.