CLOTH COVERED HEART VALVE WITH PROTECTED CAGE LEGS

A cloth covering on the cage is protected on the inside surfaces of the cage legs by continuous metal track bars extending from the orifice ring to the apex of the cage. The track bars hold the movable valve member out of contact with the cloth to prevent wear on the cloth. In two embodiments the track bars form an inner metal cage nested in grooves in the legs of the main structural cage with the cloth coverings on the latter lining the grooves between the inner and outer cages. In another embodiment the track bars are of plastic material molded into the cloth coverings on the cage legs. In this embodiment the track bars project on both the inside and the outside of the cloth coverings and are held seated in grooves in the cage legs by the cloth coverings.