They Hand Her Your Life for 6 Hours | Cardiac Perfusionist Vivian Moreno

They stop the heart. She keeps you alive. In this episode of The Device Girls, we sit down with cardiac perfusionist Vivian Moreno to talk about one of the most intense jobs in medicine. Vivian shares what it’s really like being responsible for keeping patients alive during open heart surgery — from running the heart-lung machine to managing ECMO patients fighting for their lives. From hearing “time of death” after doing everything possible… to helping patients survive long enough to receive a heart transplant… this conversation gives a raw inside look into the emotional weight, pressure, and humanity behind one of medicine’s most overlooked professions. But this conversation goes deeper than medicine. Vivian also opens up about the mental toll of high-stakes healthcare, learning to stay grounded outside the hospital, and how this career completely changed her perspective on life. Raw. Honest. Eye-opening. 🎧 Episode highlights: • What a cardiac perfusionist actually does • What happens when surgeons stop the heart • ECMO, bypass, and life support explained simply • The emotional reality of withdrawing care • The hardest moments Vivian has experienced in medicine • What it’s like carrying the pressure of human life • Women in perfusion and healthcare • How medicine changed her perspective on life forever • Staying grounded outside of the hospital 👩‍⚕️ Guest: Vivian Moreno Cardiac Perfusionist 🎤 Hosts: Sarah Kruse — @sarahekruse Haley Gibson — @haleyygibsonfit 📲 Follow The Device Girls: Instagram: @thedevicegirls TikTok: @thedevicegirls 👍 If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone in healthcare. 💬 Question: What’s a profession people don’t fully understand until they hear the human side of it? #CardiacPerfusion #ECMO #OpenHeartSurgery #WomenInHealthcare #MedicalPodcast #HealthcareStories #Perfusionist #TheDeviceGirls **Views Expressed Are Our Own**