| CPC A61F 2/2418 (2013.01) [A61B 17/0401 (2013.01); A61F 2/2415 (2013.01); A61F 2220/0008 (2013.01); A61F 2220/0016 (2013.01); A61F 2220/0075 (2013.01); A61F 2250/0025 (2013.01); A61F 2250/0039 (2013.01); A61F 2250/0097 (2013.01)] | 18 Claims |

|
1. A method for implanting a heart valve prosthesis at a native heart valve of a patient, the method comprising:
loading the heart valve prosthesis in a collapsed shape onto a delivery catheter, the heart valve prosthesis comprising (i) a stent comprising at least one feeler designed to align the stent with the native heart valve and an outflow end region comprising a first cell and a second cell, and (ii) a valve prosthesis coupled to the stent having a valve ratio of annulus to commissure distance (ACD) to annulus diameter (AD) of 1.01 to 1.14, the ACD distance being a distance between a proximal end of a commissure portion and a proximal end of an annulus portion, wherein in the outflow end region aspect ratios of the first cell and the second cell in a single circumferential row vary with respect to one another from 1 to 3, areas of the first cell and the second cell vary with respect to one another from 5 mm2 to 250 mm2 or heights of the first cell and the second cell vary with respect to one another from 3 mm to 30 mm;
delivering the heart valve prosthesis to the native heart valve via vasculature of the patient;
positioning the heart valve prosthesis at the native valve by protruding the at least one feeler to align the heart valve prosthesis with endogenous commissures of the native heart valve; and
deploying the heart valve prosthesis at the native valve such that the heart valve prosthesis transforms to an expanded shape.
|