CATENARY MITRAL VALVE REPLACEMENT

A novel one-way valve, preferably a substitute mitral heart valve, is provided herein. The mitral heart valve comprises a stent including a circular base and a pair of upstanding,diametrically opposed struts, separating a pair of diametrically opposed,arcuately shaped, 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,molded flexible,flappably-movable,valve leaflets secured along the smooth curve defining the upper perimeter of the reliefs. The valve leaflets each are preformed and molded so that the free margin of the biocompatible leaflets along the free edges of each of the leaflets between the tips of each associated strut is so related to the circumference of the circular base that, when the valve is in its 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 closed position, the shape of the leaflets is such that the free edges of the leaflets drop down and sealingly meet in substantially wrinkle-free form at a curve 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.