The Valley View Heart & Vascular Center, offering premier cardiovascular care to the Roaring Fork Valley and beyond, will commemorate American Heart Month in February 2024 by welcoming a new interventional cardiologist, hosting an educational Valley View University event, and celebrating its recent growth contributions to the evolution of cardiovascular care offered to the community.

According to the CDC, heart disease is the leading cause of death for men, women and people of most racial and ethnic groups in the United States. About 695,000 people in the United States died from heart disease in 2021—that’s one in every five deaths. 

To further its commitment to cardiovascular care, the Center is pleased to welcome Ethan Munzinger, MD, an interventional cardiologist to its team. His specialties include the treatment of coronary artery disease, heart attacks, heart failure and vascular diseases. Dr. Munzinger earned his medical degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine, after receiving his master’s degree in physiology and biophysics from Georgetown University in Washington, DC. He also completed fellowships and internships at the University of Oklahoma and Detroit Medical Center. Prior to joining the Valley View team, Dr. Munzinger practiced in Arkansas, where he built a vein and vascular treatment program at Unity Hospital in Searcy. 

“I am proud to join the Valley View team and the region’s leading Heart and Vascular Center,” stated Dr. Munzinger. “I find professional satisfaction in treating patients in the throes of a major heart attack, placing a stent in the coronary artery and seeing rapid improvement of their symptoms. In addition to performing invasive procedures, I believe in the value of non-invasive medical therapies, healthy lifestyle, exercise and rehabilitation. Most of all, I believe in patient-centered, data-driven medical decision-making. I see my role as an educator or guide in helping a patient make the best-informed decision for him or herself.”

In commemoration of American Heart Month, Valley View is pleased to introduce the community to Dr. Munzinger with a virtual 30-minute Valley View University presentation, followed by an open Q&A session, on Tuesday, Feb. 6 at 12 p.m. MT. During this webinar, Dr. Munzinger will discuss the causes of vein conditions including varicose veins, and the non-invasive and invasive treatment options for these conditions. For more information and to RSVP, please visit: VVH.org/VVU.

The Heart & Vascular Center’s team comprises the most experienced group of cardiologists, cardiovascular surgeons and cardiothoracic surgeons on Colorado’s Western Slope. It has grown to 15 employed providers, including 6 physicians, 4 physician assistants, 4 nurse practitioners, and 1 perfusionist. It remains the only team providing 24/7/365 cardiovascular care along the I-70 corridor. When minutes matter during an acute cardiovascular event, this commitment to caring for the community is imperative.     

Since Valley View expanded its advanced catheterization laboratory in 2016, volume has increased by over 60%. These procedures include percutaneous coronary intervention, permanent pacemaker, implantable cardiac defibrillator, implantable loop recorder, transesophageal echocardiogram, and cardioversion. The open-heart surgery program, led by Cardiothoracic Surgeon Stephen Jones, MD, launched in 2021. Heart and thoracic surgeries have grown 61% over that time. This growth is unprecedented and demonstrates the increasing need for local and expert heart and vascular care by members of the Roaring Fork Valley and beyond.  

“We would like to recognize February as American Heart Month and take this opportunity to thank the community for their support in allowing us to continue to do what we do best – deliver exceptional patient care,” said Frank Laws, MD, FACC, medical director of the Heart & Vascular Center. “We welcome Dr. Ethan Munzinger to the team and are pleased that he shares the same goals of providing quality, comprehensive, patient centered care to all patients.”

Continuously named among the nation’s top-performing hospitals for treatment of heart attack patients by the American College of Cardiology for Chest Pain ― MI Registry™, the Heart & Vascular Center provides open heart surgery, the most comprehensive approach to AFib, vascular treatment and management, and surgical procedures involving the lungs, among other services. 

Patients travel from across the western Colorado region, the front range and across state lines seeking care with the Heart & Vascular Center. Additional locations enable patients to access the care they need more conveniently.  For example, the Center has a full-time office in Grand Junction with satellite clinics in Craig, Rangely, Meeker, Rifle and Eagle, where patients can see distinguished physicians including Dr. Laws, who is both an electrophysiologist, interventional cardiologist, and Medical Director of the Heart & Vascular Center, Dr. Munzinger, and more.

Referrals for services are not required, and the cardiovascular team is available for patients 24/7/365 for emergency care.

To learn more about the Valley View Heart & Vascular Center, visit vvheartcare.org or call 970.384.7290 for the Glenwood Springs location, or 970.384.7737 for the Grand Junction location.