Apparatus for endovascularly replacing a patient's heart valve, including: a replacement valve adapted to be delivered endovascularly to a vicinity of the heart valve; an expandable anchor adapted to be delivered endovascularly to the vicinity of the heart valve; and a lock mechanism configured to maintain a minimum amount of anchor expansion. The invention also includes a method for endovascularly replacing a patient's heart valve. In some embodiments the method includes the steps of: endovascularly delivering a replacement valve and an expandable anchor to a vicinity of the heart valve; expanding the anchor to a deployed configuration; and locking the anchor in the deployed configuration.

An implantable prosthetic valve includes a radially collapsible and expandable annular frame having three commissure attachment posts and four rows of circumferential struts. The rows include a first row, a second row downstream of the first row, a third row downstream of the second row, and a fourth row downstream of the third row and defining an outflow end of the frame. Each row of circumferential struts includes angled struts arranged in a zig-zag pattern. A leaflet structure includes three leaflets forming three commissures, each commissure being connected to one of the commissure attachment posts only at locations along the commissure attachment posts between a first plane that is perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the frame and intersects crowns of the third row of struts and a second plane that is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis and intersects crowns of the fourth row of struts.

A cardiovascular fibrous implant for rebuilding elastin and the use of such an implant, wherein the implant is comprised of fibers forming a network, and wherein the fibers comprised in said network have a fiber diameter of 150 μm or less.

A stabilized fabric composed of a mesh or a woven fabric is disclosed as are methods of their manufacture, the manufacture of medical devices made using a stabilized fibers and stabilized medical devices are all disclosed. Fabrics can be stabilized by several techniques including: using mechanical, chemical and/or energetic fasteners at warp and weft intersections in the weave; by using various weaving techniques and fibers. Meshes can be stabilized when properly dimensioned and arranged junctions and struts of the necessary properties are used. All of these stabilized fabrics can be made of synthetic polymer materials such as ultrahigh molecular weight PE or PP and expanded PTFE.

A device for treating heart failure in a patient. The device comprising a body, at least one passage through the body, at least one one way valve in the passage and a mounting means adapted for mounting the body in an opening provided in the patient's atrial septum. In use, the device is oriented such that, when the patient's left atrial pressure exceeds the patient's right atrial pressure by a predetermined amount, the one way valve(s) opens to allow blood flow through the passage(s) from the left atrium to the right atrium to thereby reduce the left atrial pressure.

A color-coded bioprosthetic valve system having a valve with an annular sewing ring, and a valve holder system with a holder sutured to the ring of the valve, a post operatively connected to the holder, and an adapter sutured to the post and having a color associated with the valve model and/or size. For example, the adapter may be blue to indicate that the valve of the system is a mitral valve of a particular type and/or size. The system may also include a flex handle that is configured to engage with the adapter. The handle has a color associated with the adapter such that a user is able to visually determine that the handle color matches the valve model. For example, the handle may have a grip that is colored blue to match the blue color of the adapter. Accordingly, the color-coded system enables users to confirm easily that the correct accessories such as the sizer or flex handle are being used with the correct valve.

An implant includes a primary structural element, and two clips coupled to the primary structural element, on opposite lateral sides of the primary structural element from each other, each of the clips having a first clip element and a second clip element. The implant is transluminally advanced to a heart valve of a subject. The implant is coupled to leaflets of the valve (i) by, for each of the clips, closing the clip around a central part of a respective leaflet of the valve by causing deflection between the first clip element and the second clip element, thereby sandwiching the central part of the respective leaflet between the first clip element and the second clip element, and (ii) such that the leaflets form a double orifice configuration, with the primary structural element disposed between the central parts of the leaflets. Other embodiments are also described.

A method of implanting a prosthetic heart valve within a patient can comprise inserting a distal end portion of a delivery apparatus and a prosthetic heart valve into the patient and advancing the prosthetic heart valve to a deployment location within the heart of the patient and inflating one or more of a plurality of differently-sized balloons in a balloon-assembly on the distal end portion of the delivery apparatus. The prosthetic heart valve can be mounted on the balloon assembly in a crimped state and the inflating of the one or more of the plurality of differently-sized balloons can expand the prosthetic heart valve from the crimped state to a radially expanded state having a non-cylindrical shape.

A spacer for creating a docking station for a transcatheter heart valve is provided. The spacer changes an effective diameter and/or a shape of an implanted bioprosthetic structure such as a bioprosthetic heart valve or annuloplasty ring, providing a supporting structure into which the transcatheter valve expands without over expanding. The spacer may be deployed through an interventional technique either through transseptal access, transfemoral access, or transapical access and is typically deployed at least in part on an inflow portion of the implanted bioprosthetic structure.

Methods of implanting docking devices for prosthetic valves at a native heart valve include positioning a distal end of a delivery catheter into a first chamber of a heart, advancing a tubular body of a docking device from within the delivery catheter so that the distal end of the tubular body is advanced between native valve leaflets and positioned in a second chamber of the heart. The methods further include inserting a coil into a lumen of the docking device so that the tubular body adopts a configuration, releasing a proximal end of the docking device in the first chamber, inserting a replacement valve in an inner space of the docking device, and radially expanding the replacement valve until there is a retention force between the replacement valve and the docking device to hold the replacement valve in a stable position in the native valve.