February is American Heart Month, and February 22nd is Heart Valve Disease Awareness Day.

About 11 million Americans have heart valve disease, and millions of them need to have their valves replaced. The first successful replacement of a mitral heart valve was done at the NIH Clinical Center by Dr. Nina Braunwald in 1960, using a valve she had designed. This photo shows Braunwald, far left, and Dr. Andrew Morrow, far right, both from NHLBI, performing heart valve surgery in the early 1960s. February is American Heart Month, and February 22nd is Heart Valve Disease Awareness Day.

About 11 million Americans have heart valve disease, and millions of them need to have their valves replaced. The first successful replacement of a mitral heart valve was done at the NIH Clinical Center by Dr. Nina Braunwald in 1960, using a valve she had designed. This photo shows Braunwald, far left, and Dr. Andrew Morrow, far right, both from NHLBI, performing heart valve surgery in the early 1960s. February is American Heart Month, and February 22nd is Heart Valve Disease Awareness Day.