Heart valves with increased effective orifice area

A prosthetic heart valve, comprising:

• a first undulating wireform comprising an elongated rod-like structure having a peripheral shape continuously alternating around a central axis, three curvilinear cusps on an inflow end and three curvilinear commissures on an outflow end;
• a second undulating wireform comprising an elongated rod-like structure having a peripheral shape continuously alternating around the axis, three curvilinear cusps on an inflow end and three curvilinear commissures on an outflow end, wherein the first and second wireforms are separate elements,
• wherein the cusps and commissures of the two wireforms are circumferentially aligned around the axis with the aligned cusps positioned adjacent to one another while the commissures of the first wireform are shorter in height than the commissures of the second wireform, and wherein the heart valve has no rigid annular components;
• and wherein the heart valve has no rigid annular components;
• and
• a plurality of flexible leaflets having outer edges secured at the cusps of the first and second undulating wireforms, wherein the cusps of the first wireform are located axially below the cusps of the second wireform and the outer edges of the flexible leaflets are secured therebetween.