02/25/2026
February is both Black History✊🏾 and American Heart❤️ Month. What better time to pay homage to Black pioneers in cardiology?!
Black people have made extraordinary contributions to the advancement of medicine, pioneering surgeries, techniques, research and treatments while facing many barriers. We can only highlight a very small number of them here, but we hope to encourage you to explore more on your own about Black practitioners whose work improved medicine for all of us. 🩺💡
🫀 Daniel Hale Williams, MD, performed one of the first successful open-heart surgeries in 1893.
🏥 Vivien Theodore Thomas, a former carpenter who in 1944 co-developed a shunt to correct a congenital heart condition in babies. While his white colleagues were credited with the invention, Thomas did not receive recognition until more than 30 years later.
👩🏾⚕️When Myra Adele Logan, MD performed open-heart surgery in 1943, she was the first woman (and ninth person) to do so. She also developed tests that detected breast cancer tumors earlier.
🩸In the 1930s, Charles R. Drew, MD developed blood storage techniques that made longer-term storage possible. He became known as the "Father of the Blood Bank."
These Black medical providers created techniques that still save millions of lives and paved the way for advancements that save millions more. In their honor, we hope you will talk to your primary care doctor about improving your heart health at your next appointment! ❤️🩹🗓️
