Prosthetic heart valve having improved commissure supports

A prosthetic valve comprising:

• a radially collapsible and expandable annular frame, the frame comprising an inlet in and an outlet end, the frame comprising a plurality of angularly spaced, commissure attachment portions, each comprising at least two struts defining a gap therebetween;
• a leaflet structure comprising a plurality of leaflets, each leaflet comprising opposing side portions, an upper edge extending between the side portions, and a lower edge extending between the side portions;
• wherein each side portion of a leaflet is paired with an adjacent side portion of another leaflet to form commissures of the leaflet structure supported by respective commissure attachment portions, wherein each pair of adjacent side portions extends through a gap between the struts of a corresponding commissure attachment portion;
• and
• a suture loop wrapped around the struts of each commissure attachment portion and tightened to draw the struts toward each other and pinch a corresponding pair of side portions of the leaflets that are between the struts;
• wherein the leaflets are movable between an open position to allow blood to flow through the prosthetic valve from the inlet end to the outlet end and a closed position to inhibit the flow of blood through the prosthetic valve from the outlet end to the inlet end.

A prosthetic valve comprising:

• a radially collapsible and expandable annular frame, the frame comprising an inlet portion and an outlet portion, the frame comprising a plurality of struts connected to each other to define a plurality of cells arranged in circumferentially extending rows with the rows connected to each other along the length of the frame, the outlet portion of the frame comprising a plurality of angularly spaced commissure attachment portions and a plurality of angularly spaced frame retaining arms between the commissure attachment portions;
• wherein the commissure attachment portions and the frame retaining arms extend from an uppermost row of the cells;
• wherein the frame retaining arms are configured to form a releasable connection with a delivery apparatus;
• a leaflet structure comprising a plurality of leaflets, each leaflet comprising opposing side portions, an upper edge extending between the side portions, and a lower edge extending between the side portions;
• wherein each side portion is paired with an adjacent side portion of another leaflet to form commissures of the leaflet structure, each commissure being supported by one of the commissure attachment portions;
• wherein the leaflets are movable between an open position to allow blood to flow through the prosthetic valve from the inlet portion to the outlet portion and a closed position to inhibit the flow of blood through the prosthetic valve from the outlet portion to the inlet portion.