Quick answer
Jaleh Saghafi, BSN, RN, built her cardiovascular nursing expertise in the Cardiovascular ICU and transplant unit at Cleveland Clinic. There she worked with cardiovascular specialists on complex therapies and managed intra-aortic balloon pumps (IABP) and ventricular-assist devices (VAD). She later applied that cardiovascular knowledge in trauma, surgical ICU, emergency and perioperative settings across Northeast Ohio.
Cardiovascular nursing is the care of people with heart and blood vessel disease. It takes place in places like an intensive care unit after heart surgery, a transplant program, or a recovery room. This page explains what that work involves and where Jaleh “Jaye” Saghafi gained her experience in it.
Where her cardiovascular experience comes from
| Setting | Organization | Cardiovascular focus |
|---|---|---|
| Cardiovascular ICU and transplant | Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland | Complex cardiovascular therapies, transplant care, IABP and VAD management, education for patients and families |
| Trauma, SICU and CVICU (charge nurse) | Mt. Sinai Hospital, East Cleveland | Complex cardiovascular monitoring, medication therapy, rapid response when a patient’s condition changes |
| SICU and emergency department | Firelands Hospital, Sandusky | Cardiovascular medications, monitoring and critical care |
| SICU, perioperative and recovery | EMH Regional Medical Center, Elyria | Surgical intensive and perioperative care, reporting changes in condition |
The full list of roles is on the experience page.
What a cardiovascular ICU nurse does
A cardiovascular intensive care unit (CVICU) cares for patients after heart surgery, patients with severe heart failure, and patients who need mechanical support for the heart. Nurses in these units typically:
- Watch heart rhythm, blood pressure and other hemodynamic readings continuously, and notice early when they change.
- Give and adjust heart medications according to physician orders, and watch how each patient responds.
- Manage equipment that supports the heart and lungs.
- Report findings to cardiologists, surgeons and intensivists so they can make treatment decisions quickly.
- Prepare patients and families for what comes next, including medications, activity limits and follow-up care.
At Cleveland Clinic, Saghafi did this work alongside cardiovascular specialists. She also educated patients and families on how cardiovascular disease progresses, the medications involved, treatment options and ongoing care.
Intra-aortic balloon pumps (IABP), explained
An intra-aortic balloon pump is a temporary device used when the heart needs short-term support. A thin balloon on a catheter sits in the aorta, the body’s main artery. The balloon inflates while the heart relaxes and deflates just before the heart pumps. This timing can increase blood flow to the heart muscle itself and reduce how hard the heart has to work to push blood out.
Nursing care for a patient on an IABP centers on close observation. It includes checking that the balloon’s timing matches the heart rhythm, watching circulation in the limb where the catheter was placed, and responding to device alarms. Saghafi’s resume lists IABP management among the advanced cardiovascular technologies she handled in the Cleveland Clinic CVICU.
Ventricular-assist devices (VAD), explained
A ventricular-assist device is a mechanical pump that helps a weakened heart move blood to the rest of the body. Most often it supports the left ventricle, the heart’s main pumping chamber, and is then called an LVAD. A VAD may support a patient while they wait for a heart transplant. It is also used as longer-term therapy for some people with advanced heart failure.
VAD patients need nurses who understand both the device and the patient’s whole condition. That means monitoring how the pump is running, caring for the patient’s fluid balance and medications, and teaching patients and families how to live with the device. Because the Cleveland Clinic unit where she worked combined cardiovascular intensive care with transplant care, Saghafi cared for patients at several stages of advanced heart disease.
Heart transplant care
After a heart transplant, patients usually spend the first part of recovery in a cardiovascular ICU. Nurses watch for signs that the new heart is or is not adapting, manage complex medication plans, and begin teaching the long-term routines transplant patients follow. Saghafi’s resume describes extensive transplant expertise from her Cleveland Clinic years.
Why life-support certifications matter
Saghafi holds Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS), Basic Life Support (BLS) and Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) certifications. ACLS covers the recognition and treatment of cardiac arrest, dangerous heart rhythms and other cardiovascular emergencies in adults. The credentials page explains each certification.
How this experience shapes her teaching
Years at the bedside with heart patients taught Saghafi how much patients and families need clear, practical explanations. That thread runs through her later work in perioperative care, home care coordination and specialty infusion. Read about it on the clinical and patient education page. For general heart-health information written for patients, see the blog, starting with heart attack symptoms in women.