Importance

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Abstract

Mitral heart valve comprising a stent including a circular base and a pair of upstanding diametrically opposed struts, separating a pair of diametrically opposed arcuately shapes depressed reliefs, each such relief being bounded by a smooth curve interconnecting the struts to the circular base. A flexible, durable, biocompatible covering is secured to the stent and provides two equal opposed preset flappably movable valve cusps secured along the smooth curve defining the perimeter of the reliefs. The valve cusps each are preformed and preset so that the perimeter of the biocompatible covering along the free edge of each of the cusps between the tips of each associated strut is so related to the circumference of the circular base that, when the valve is in its forced open position, the cross-sectional area of the exit is substantially equal to the cross-sectional area of the inside of the circular base. When the valve is in its relaxed and natural position, the shape of the cusps is such that the free edges of the cusps sealingly meet in substantially wrinkle-free form at a line of apposition in the plane defined by the tips of the struts and the axis of the valve and follow the approximate shape of a catenary curve.

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First Claim