Endoluminal cardiac and venous valve prostheses and methods of manufacture and delivery thereof

A method of endoluminally delivering a valvular prosthesis within an anatomic passageway to replace an anatomic valve using a catheter comprised of at least two sections near the distal end of the catheter, a first section consisting of the valvular prosthesis covered by a sheath, and a second section consisting of an inflatable balloon, comprising the steps of:

• passing the at least two sections of the catheter through an anatomic passageway so that the second section is passed distally through the anatomic valve such that a portion of the inflatable balloon is within the anatomic valve;
• contacting the inflatable balloon to a surface of the anatomic valve by inflating the inflatable balloon to dilatate the anatomic valve;
• positioning the first section within the anatomic valve for deployment of the valvular prosthesis;
• and
• withdrawing the sheath and the catheter to release the valvular prosthesis from the sheath onto the dilatated anatomic valve to functionally replace the anatomic valve.