Exhibitions

Mending Broken Hearts: Innovation Inside the Body

September 23, 2016 – March 26, 2017

National Museum of American History
1300 Constitution Ave., NW
Washington, DC

1st Floor, Center

See on Map Floor Plan

The history of medical advancement in America has been one of trial and risk. Artificial heart valves were the first successful mechanical replacement of an organ in a human. Today, heart valve operations are routine, but developing a successful mechanical heart valve involved years of experimentation by small teams of doctors, scientists, and engineers after World War II.