A flow reducing implant for reducing blood flow in a blood vessel having a cross sectional dimension, the flow reducing implant comprising a hollow element adapted for placement in the blood vessel defining a flow passage therethrough, said flow passage comprising at least two sections, one with a larger diameter and one with a smaller diameter, wherein said smaller diameter is smaller than a cross section of the blood vessel. A plurality of tabs anchor, generally parallel to the blood vessel wall, are provided in some embodiments of the invention.

A stent includes a main body having a plurality of rings that form a helix. Each of the plurality of rings includes a plurality of skewed v-shaped elements that each have a first leg and a second leg that is longer than the first leg. The stent further includes a first end ring and a second end ring positioned to an opposite side of the main body from the first end ring. Each of the plurality of rings of the main body is angled with respect to the first end ring and the second end ring. The stent further includes a first transitional region for connecting the first end ring to the main body, and a second transitional region for connecting the second end ring to the main body.

An expandable stent for implantation in a body lumen, such as an artery, is disclosed. The stent consists of a plurality of radially expandable cylindrical rings generally aligned on a common longitudinal stent axis and interconnected by one or more interconnecting links placed so that the stent is flexible in the longitudinal direction. The link pattern is optimized to enhance longitudinal flexibility and high longitudinal strength compression of the stent.

A scaffold includes a radiopaque marker connected to a strut. The marker is retained within the strut by a head at one or both ends. The marker is attached to the strut by a process that includes forming a rivet from a radiopaque bead and attaching the rivet to the marker including deforming the rivet to enhance resistance to dislodgement during crimping or balloon expansion. The strut has a thickness of about 100 microns.

There is provided an expandable tube for deployment within a blood vessel, the expandable tube being reversibly switchable from a radially contracted and longitudinally expanded state to a radially expanded and longitudinally contracted state, the expandable tube comprising a first frame comprising braided filament, and a second frame connected to the first frame and overlapping with the first frame in the radial direction, the second frame comprising a network of non-overlapping elements, the non-overlapping elements being non-overlapping with respect to each other in the radial direction, wherein the network of non-overlapping elements has an interconnected structure comprising a plurality of sub-units that repeat in the longitudinal direction.

A radially expandable, tubular stent, includes a first section having a first crush resistance force and a second section have a second crush resistance force, wherein the first crush resistance force is less than the second crush resistance force. The first section is connected to the second section to form a tube, connection of the first and second sections extending in an axial direction of the tube.

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.

A medical appliance or prosthesis comprising a support structure and a covering is disclosed. The support structure includes a frame comprising a wire winding. The wire winding includes an end row including apexes and troughs. The apexes and troughs are configured to allow crimping of the frame to a low profile while reducing strain on the wire. The covering includes a multilayer construct including fibrous inner and outer layers and a barrier layer.

The invention relates to a medical device and a method of using it. The device is a stent which can be percutaneously deliverable with (or on) an endovascular catheter or via other surgical or other techniques and then expanded. The stent is configured to have a central portion defined by “open” cells and at least two end portions, defined by “closed” cells, spaced apart and directly connected to the distal and proximal ends of the central portion of the stent. The stent may also optionally have a covering or a lattice with openings.

An intraluminal prosthesis includes a stent architecture having a series of stent elements repeating along a circumferential axis. One series of stent elements includes v-shaped stent elements having at least four different orientations, and V-shaped stent elements connecting adjacent v-shaped stent elements. One series of stent elements includes R-shaped stent elements having at least four different orientations, and U-shaped stent elements having at least two different orientations, the U-shaped stent elements connecting adjacent R-shaped stent elements. Adjacent series of stent elements can be connected by connectors. Portions of the stent elements may narrow in width along a length thereof. The stent architecture may include radiopaque element receiving members. The stent architecture may be formed by machining a metal or polymer tube. The intraluminal prosthesis may include one or more graft layers.