Jonathan VafaiMD · FACC · FASE
Cardiology · Delray Beach, FL

Jonathan Vafai, MD

Chairman, Department of Cardiology — Delray Medical Center

Board-certified cardiologist with 16+ years in clinical practice, subspecializing in echocardiography and structural heart disease. Core clinical faculty for the FAU Cardiology Fellowship and active investigator on multiple structural heart clinical trials.

Portrait of Dr. Jonathan Vafai
South Florida Heart Institute
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16+
Years in clinical practice
2007 · 2010
Board certified, Internal Medicine & Cardiovascular Disease

About

01 / Background

Dr. Vafai has practiced cardiology in South Florida for over a decade, seeing patients at South Florida Heart Institute in Delray Beach since 2011.

He chairs the Department of Cardiology at Delray Medical Center, where he also serves as Medical Director of the Echocardiography Laboratory, and previously served as Vice-Chairman of the Department of Medicine from 2018 to 2020. He is core clinical faculty for the FAU Cardiology Fellowship at Florida Atlantic University's Schmidt College of Medicine, mentoring two fellows each year in echocardiography and cardiac imaging.

He trained at NYU School of Medicine, completed internal medicine training at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (Harvard Medical School), and served as Chief Fellow during his cardiology fellowship with the NYU program at Northwell Health. He is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and the American Society of Echocardiography.

Clinical focus

02 / Subspecialty

Echocardiography

Medical Director of the Echocardiography Laboratory at Delray Medical Center; recertified by the National Board of Echocardiography (ASCeXAM) in 2022.

Structural heart disease

Investigator on transcatheter valve and structural heart trials, working alongside interventional colleagues on TAVR- and TEER-adjacent research.

Quality & education

Leads departmental quality-improvement work as Chairman and mentors fellows in imaging as core faculty for the FAU cardiology program.

SUMMIT Trial
Echocardiographer
TRILUMINATE Trial
Heart Failure Specialist
Evolut Low Risk Trial
Echocardiographer
EMPOWER Trial
Echocardiographer

Experience

03 / Practice history
June 2020 — Present

Chairman, Department of Cardiology

Delray Medical Center, Delray Beach, FL
July 2012 — Present

Medical Director, Echocardiography Laboratory

Delray Medical Center, Delray Beach, FL
November 2011 — Present

Cardiologist

South Florida Heart Institute PA / Palm Beach Health Network, Delray Beach, FL
Practice acquired by Palm Beach Health Network, September 2012.
January 2018 — May 2020

Vice-Chairman, Department of Medicine

Delray Medical Center, Delray Beach, FL
July 2010 — October 2011

Cardiologist

Heart Specialists of Central Jersey, LLP, Freehold, NJ

Academic & training

04 / Faculty, fellowship, education
Faculty appointments
Aug 2013 — Present
Affiliate Associate Professor
Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, Boca Raton, FL — core clinical faculty, FAU Cardiology Fellowship (2 fellows/yr since 2019)
Jun 2004 — Jun 2007
Clinical Fellow in Medicine
Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
Training & education
Jul 2007 — Jun 2010
Cardiology Fellow · Chief Fellow, 2009–2010
NYU School of Medicine Program
Northwell Health, Manhasset, NY
Jun 2004 — Jun 2007
Intern & Resident, Internal Medicine
Harvard Medical School
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
2000 — 2004
Doctor of Medicine
New York University School of Medicine
1996 — 2000
B.A., Biochemistry — Cum Laude
New York University College of Arts and Science

Board certifications

05 / Credentialing
American Board of Internal Medicine2007 · recert. to 2027
ABIM, Cardiovascular Disease2010 · recert. to 2030
Certification Board of Nuclear Cardiology2010
National Board of Echocardiography (ASCeXAM)recert. 2022
Licensed to practice medicine in Florida and New York.

Leadership & quality improvement

06 / As Chairman

As Chairman of the Department of Cardiology, Dr. Vafai oversees departmental quality-improvement initiatives, including:

  • Documentation. Improved clinical documentation completion rates department-wide.
  • Imaging protocols. Developed and implemented updated echocardiography laboratory protocols.
  • Catheterization lab safety. Led initiatives that reduced bleeding complications in the cardiac catheterization lab.
  • Current initiative. Leading a quality initiative to reduce acute kidney injury following cardiac catheterization.

Recognition

07 / Honors & societies
Honors & awards
2016–26Castle Connolly "Top Doctor"
2009Chief Fellow, Northwell Health (formerly North Shore–LIJ) Cardiology Fellowship
2008Lawrence Scherr, MD, Department of Medicine Scholarly Activity Award
2003–04Elected Chairman, NYU Student Senators Council (University-Wide)
2003NYU School of Medicine Student Council Award for Outstanding & Dedicated Service
2002NYU President's Service Award
2000Max Goldstein Prize for Creativity in Computing
Professional societies
American Society of Echocardiography — Fellow Finance Committee, 2021–23 · Education Committee, 2023–25
American College of Cardiology — Fellow
Consulting & review
Consultant, McKesson / Change Healthcare / Optum 2016 — Present
Expert Reviewer, Florida Board of Medicine December 2021 — June 2025
Medical-Legal Review / Expert Witness 2018 — Present
Publications, abstracts & selected lectures

Peer-reviewed publications

  1. Kahan J, Hamed M, Lobana VR, Haider MA, Vafai J, Syed A, Smith K, Ravaee B, Lieberman EH. "Escaping History: The Cardiovascular Health and Prevention Manual." Amazon, September 4, 2024.
  2. Catanzaro JN, Makaryus J, Vafai J, Makaryus AN, Jadonath R, Beldner S. "Dual Atrioventricular-Nodal Physiology, Elicited by Pacing and Leading to a Reversible Cardiomyopathy." Texas Heart Institute Journal, 36(4): 352 (2009).
  3. Vafai J, Pinto DS, Gibson CM. "Evidenced-Based Management of ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction: 2007 Update." Cardiology Quarterly, First Quarter, 2007.
  4. Kirtane AJ, Vafai J, Murphy SA, Aroesty JM, Sabatine MS, Cannon CP, Gibson CM. "Angiographically Evident Thrombus Following Fibrinolytic Therapy Is Associated with Impaired Myocardial Perfusion in STEMI: A CLARITY-TIMI 28 Substudy." European Heart Journal, 27: 2040c (2006).
  5. Gan HH, Perlow RA, Roy S, Ko J, Wu M, Huang J, Yan S, Nicoletta A, Vafai J, Sun D, Wang L, Noah JE, Schlick T. "Analysis of Protein Sequence/Structure Similarity Relationships." Biophysical Journal, 83: 2781 (2002).
  6. Rokhsar CK, Shupack JL, Vafai JJ, Washenik K. "Efficacy of Topical Sensitizers in the Treatment of Alopecia Areata." Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 39: 751-61 (1998).

Abstracts

  1. Vafai J, Singh A, Catanzaro J, Makaryus AN, Altman EJ, Jadonath RL, Beldner S. "Effect of Left Circumflex Coronary Artery Disease on the Left Marginal Vein and Its Implications for Biventricular Lead Placement." Journal of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography, 3(4S): S21, July 2009.
  2. Havens AK, Vafai J, Idel S, Teupser D, O'Donnell CJ, Breslow JL. "Inflammation Pathway Gene Polymorphisms and Heart Disease Related Phenotypes in the Framingham Study Cohort." NHLBI's PGA Symposium, July 2005.
  3. Anantharaman T, et al., Vafai J, et al. "Optical Mapping: A Complete System for Whole Genome Shotgun Mapping." DOE Human Genome Workshop, March 2000.

Selected lectures

  1. "E/M Primer." FAU Cardiology Grand Rounds, Delray Beach, FL, March 22, 2024 & April 8, 2022.
  2. "Cardiac Monitoring of Cardio-Toxic Chemotherapy: The ABCs of Cardiac Imaging." Cardio-Onc Grand Rounds, Delray Beach, FL, February 28, 2020.
  3. "LV Chamber Quantification 2015 Update." Delray Echo Meeting, Delray Beach, FL, July 23, 2015.
  4. "Pericardial Diseases." Noon Conference, Internal Medicine Residency Program, Long Island Jewish Medical Center, New Hyde Park, NY, September 2008 & September 2009.

Media

08 / Coverage
Video

Meet the Doctor

A short introduction to Dr. Vafai's practice and approach to cardiac care, produced by Palm Beach Health Network.

Watch the video ↗
News · Feb 28, 2022

On WPTV: Cardio-Oncology

Dr. Vafai is interviewed on WPTV about Delray Medical Center's cardio-oncology program, which monitors heart health during cancer treatment.

Watch the segment ↗
News · Jan 3, 2023

On CBS12: Damar Hamlin

Dr. Vafai speaks with CBS12 about Damar Hamlin's on-field collapse, explaining commotio cordis and how rare cardiac arrest is among athletes.

Read the segment ↗
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Press

Top Docs 2026

Boca Raton Observer ↗

Patient reviews

09 / What patients say
4.9★
96 reviews · Birdeye
5.0★
19 ratings · Vitals
5.0★
Healthline FindCare
"Always very professional, caring, thorough, a good listener and a great problem solver."
Patient review
"Dr. Vafai is outstanding, knowledgeable, and exceptionally responsive to messages."
Patient review
"A caring and competent cardiologist who invests time to analyze and evaluate the patient's condition."
Patient review
"Very thorough, polite, and explained all things that I questioned."
Patient review
Read more reviews ↗