Valve Leaflet Attachment in Collapsible Prosthetic Valves

A prosthetic heart valve, comprising:

• a stent having an annulus section, a collapsed condition, an expanded condition, a proximal end, a distal end, and a plurality of commissure features, the annulus section having a plurality of cells connected to one another in at least two annular rows around the circumference of the stent, each cell being formed by a plurality of struts, two adjacent struts merging at an ancon, the annulus section including a first group of three struts connected to one another in substantially end-to-end fashion extending diagonally along three cells from one of the commissure features toward the proximal end of the stent, and a second group of three struts connected to one another in substantially end-to-end fashion extending diagonally along three cells from another of the commissure features toward the proximal end of the stent and toward the first group of struts, ending with a connection between an end of the third strut of the first group of struts and an end of the third strut of the second group of struts;
• and
• a valve assembly secured to the stent and including a cuff disposed on the annulus section of the stent and a plurality of leaflets disposed between the plurality of commissure features and the proximal end of the stent, each of the plurality of leaflets being coupled to a respective pair of the commissure features and, apart from such coupling, each of the plurality of leaflets being coupled only to the cuff between the respective pair of the commissure features with a repeating pattern of sutures, the pattern of sutures following an attachment line that includes a descending seam spaced proximally of the two most distal struts in the first group of struts while substantially maintaining a distance y from the two most distal struts in the first group of struts, an ascending seam spaced proximally of the two most distal struts in the second group of struts while substantially maintaining the distance y from the two most distal struts in the second group of struts, and a lower portion between the descending seam and the ascending seam,
• wherein the ancons in two longitudinally adjacent rows of cells are joined by runners, the lower portion of the attachment line crossing one of the runners.