Implantable vascular devices and implantable cardiovascular devices
suitable for contacting a patient's blood or bodily fluids include a
polymer substrate that is at least partly coated with a diamond-like
carbon coating. The diamond-like carbon coated polymer substrate can be
flexible or rigid. Preferred medical devices include heart valve
prostheses with leaflets or orifice rings formed from diamond-like carbon
coated polymer materials. Preferred approaches for the deposition of the
diamond-like carbon coating are performed at low pressures and include ion
beam assisted deposition.