Stents for prosthetic heart valves

1. A prosthetic valve comprising:

a wire frame comprising a generally tubular body portion, an interior area, a longitudinal axis, a first end comprising a plurality of crowns, and a second end comprising a greater number of crowns than the first end, wherein the wire frame comprises a plurality of adjacent rows of diamond-shaped structures extending between the first and second ends

wherein a first intermediate row of diamond-shaped structures is spaced from both the first and second ends of the wire frame, wherein the first intermediate row comprises a plurality of diamond-shaped structures that are each spaced from each other by a gap distance around the tubular body portion of the wire frame,

wherein a second intermediate row of diamond-shaped structures is spaced from both the first and second ends of the wire frame, wherein the second intermediate row comprises a plurality of diamond-shaped structures that are each spaced from each other by a gap distance around the tubular body portion of the wire frame,

wherein respective peaks of each diamond-shaped structure of the first intermediate row and respective valleys of each diamond-shaped structure of the second intermediate row form a respective connection portion between the respective peaks and valleys such that the wire frame includes a plurality of connection portions, wherein the connection portions also form a portion of a large-cell row of diamond-shaped structures,

wherein some of the plurality of connection portions are bulged radially outwardly relative to the other of the plurality of connection portions to form bulged connection portions, wherein bulges of the bulged connection portions are located between the respective peaks of the first intermediate row and respective valleys of the second intermediate row; and

a valve structure attached within the interior area of the wire frame, the valve structure comprising a plurality of leaflets.

2. The prosthetic valve of claim 1 , wherein a first row of the plurality of rows comprises a plurality of diamond-shaped structures extending around the tubular body portion of the wire frame, wherein each of the diamond-shaped structures includes a curved intersection area that extends from a curved intersection area of an adjacent diamond-shaped structure.

3. The prosthetic valve of claim 2 , wherein each of the diamond-shaped structures of the first row comprises a first peak spaced along a length of the wire frame from a second peak, wherein at least one of the first and second peaks comprises a curved radius portion.

4. The prosthetic valve of claim 3 , wherein the first peak and second peak are spaced from each other in a direction that is generally parallel to a longitudinal axis of the wire frame.

5. The prosthetic valve of claim 2 , wherein each curved intersection area comprises a point from which two adjacent wire segments of a modified diamond-shaped structure extend.

6. The prosthetic valve of claim 5 , further comprising a connector portion at the point from which two adjacent wire segments extend.

7. The prosthetic valve of claim 2 , wherein at least one of the curved intersection areas protrudes outwardly relative to the tubular body portion of the wire frame.

8. The prosthetic valve of claim 1 , wherein the large-cell row of diamond-shaped structures is adjacent to the first and second intermediate rows of structures, wherein the large-cell row comprises a plurality of adjacent diamond-shaped structures that extend directly from each other around the tubular body portion of the wire frame.

9. The prosthetic valve of claim 8 , wherein each of the structures of the large-cell row comprises a larger open area than an open area of each of the structures of the first and second intermediate rows.

10. The prosthetic valve of claim 1 , wherein the first and second ends of the wire frame each have an outer circumference that is larger than an outer circumference of a central area of the wire frame, wherein the central area is longitudinally spaced between the first and second ends.

11. The prosthetic valve of claim 1 , wherein the first end of the wire frame comprises an outflow end of the frame and wherein the second end of the wire frame comprises an inflow end of the frame.

12. The prosthetic valve of claim 1 , further comprising a connector extending from at least one of the crowns of at least one of the first and second ends of the wire frame.

13. The prosthetic valve of claim 1 , wherein the wire frame is radially self-expandable.

14. The prosthetic valve of claim 1 , wherein the first intermediate row of diamond-shaped structures, the second intermediate row of diamond-shaped structures, and the large-cell row of diamond-shaped structures all include the same number of diamond-shaped structures.

15. The prosthetic valve of claim 1 , wherein half of the plurality of connection portions are bulged radially outwardly relative to the other half of the plurality of connection portions.

16. The prosthetic valve of claim 15 , wherein the valve structure includes a plurality of commissures where adjacent leaflets are joined, wherein each commissure of the valve structure is attached to a respective non-bulged connection portion.

17. The prosthetic valve of claim 1 , wherein the valve structure includes a plurality of commissures where adjacent leaflets are joined, wherein each commissure of the valve structure is attached to a respective non-bulged connection portion.

18. The prosthetic valve of claim 17 , wherein each non-bulged connection portion is disposed between two adjacent bulged connection portions.

19. A prosthetic valve comprising:

a wire frame comprising a generally tubular body portion, an interior area, a longitudinal axis, a first end comprising a plurality of crowns, and a second end comprising a greater number of crowns than the first end, wherein the wire frame comprises a plurality of adjacent rows of diamond-shaped structures extending between the first and second ends

wherein a first intermediate row of diamond-shaped structures is spaced from both the first and second ends of the wire frame, wherein the first intermediate row comprises a plurality of diamond-shaped structures that are each spaced from each other by a gap distance around the tubular body portion of the wire frame,

wherein a second intermediate row of diamond-shaped structures is spaced from both the first and second ends of the wire frame, wherein the second intermediate row comprises a plurality of diamond-shaped structures that are each spaced from each other by a gap distance around the tubular body portion of the wire frame,

wherein respective peaks of each diamond-shaped structure of the first intermediate row and respective valleys of each diamond-shaped structure of the second intermediate row are connected to each other to form a respective connection portion such that the wire frame includes a plurality of connection portions, wherein the connection portions also form a portion of a large-cell row of diamond-shaped structures,

wherein some of the plurality of connection portions are bulged radially outwardly relative to the other of the plurality of connection portions to form bulged connection portions, wherein the respective peaks of the first intermediate row and the respective valleys of the second intermediate row of the connection portions that form the bulged connection portions are bulged relative the respective peaks and valleys of the non-bulged connection portions; and

a valve structure attached within the interior area of the wire frame, the valve structure comprising a plurality of leaflets.

20. The prosthetic valve of claim 19 , wherein the valve structure includes a plurality of commissures where adjacent leaflets are joined, wherein each commissure of the valve structure is attached to a respective non-bulged connection portion.