Reconfiguring heart features

A tool to attach a support to a heart valve annulus, the tool comprising:

• splaying elements that spread apart to hold the support in an expanded configuration prior to attachment, expand the heart valve annulus prior to attachment, enable the attachment of the support in its expanded configuration to the expanded valve annulus, and pull together to release the expanded support to a contracted configuration after the attachment.

An apparatus comprising:

• polygonal elements connected along corners of the elements to form a ring, the polygonal elements being capable of expanding and contracting, and
• gripping elements attached to points of the polygonal elements, the gripping elements having a free end that is sharp enough to penetrate heart tissue when pushed against the tissue, and a feature to resist withdrawal of the gripping element from the tissue after the sharp free end has penetrated the tissue.

A method comprising using a delivery tool to expand a support and a heart valve annulus to one diameter and to bring anchors of the support into radial alignment with a circumference of the annulus to attach the support to the annulus, and releasing the tool to allow the support to collapse to a predetermined diameter, retaining the heart valve annulus at about that predetermined diameter.