Heart valve repair and replacement

An apparatus for performing a procedure on a heart valve, the heart valve having an annulus and leaflets, the apparatus comprising:

• a tissue engaging member including
• (a) a loop of material configured to contact at least a portion of the annulus or the leaflets when the loop of material is deployed,
• (b) a plurality of anchors, each of the plurality of anchors having a pointy front end and a back end, each of the plurality of anchors having An elongated slot, the elongated slot having a direction of elongation that runs in a front-to-back direction, wherein the front ends of the plurality of anchors are configured for implantation into the annulus or the leaflets in a forward direction and wherein the plurality of anchors are configured so that subsequent to implantation, the plurality of anchors resist extraction from the annulus or the leaflets in a backwards direction, wherein the plurality of anchors are arranged with respect to the loop of material so that when the loop of material is deployed the plurality of anchors are distributed about the loop of material with the front ends of the plurality of anchors facing the annulus or the leaflets, and
• (c) a plurality of linking members that are affixed to the loop of material, at least a portion of each of the linking members passing through the slot in a respective anchor, wherein each of the linking members is configured to slide with respect to the slot in the respective anchor in the front-to-back direction.