| abstract |
The invention relates to a self-expandable medical instrument ( 100 ) for treating defects in a patient's heart, in particular for the transvascular implantation of a prosthetic heart valve ( 30 ), wherein the medical instrument ( 100 ) is introducible into the body of a patient in a minimally-invasive procedure using a catheter system ( 40 ) and comprises a stent ( 1 ) made of a flexible mesh ( 2 ) of thin wires or filaments ( 2′ ). In order to realize a positioning of medical instrument ( 100 ) in the patient's heart which is as precise as possible and to securely anchor same there, it is provided for the stent ( 1 ) composed of the flexible mesh ( 2 ) to exhibit in the expanded state of the medical instrument ( 100 ) a distal retention area ( 10 ) with a laterally-inverted beaded portion ( 12 ) which is engageable in at least one pocket ( 51 ) of the patient's defective heart valve ( 50 ), a proximal retention area ( 20 ), and a center area ( 15 ) positioned between the distal and the proximal retention area ( 10, 20 ). |