South Denver Cardiology celebrates 50 years of service

BY NINA JOSS NJOSS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

In the early 1970s, Dr. Arthur Levene and Dr. John Hutcherson started a medical practice. In 1973, they joined forces with another doctor, Hugh Weily, and decided to solely focus on heart health. us, South Denver Cardiology was born.

Fifty years later, the Littleton-based practice is celebrating half a century of caring for the hearts of south Denver. rough advanced technology and a dedicated team of doctors, the practice has helped generations of patients over the years.

“I think we do rst-rate cardiology,” Levene said. “We have great people, we’ve added on really good doctors … We’ve served the community and I think we’ve had a great reputation.”

Levene said he’s particularly proud of the culture at South Denver Cardiology, where 27 doctors work collaboratively. Unlike some other cardiology practices, compensation at South Denver is not based on the number of pacemakers or stents a doctor puts in. is structure inspires a team-oriented mindset and better service to the community, Levene said.

“We’ve always had a sharing type of philosophy,” he said. “You’re not competing. You’re not saying ‘Oh, I want to keep this for myself or do a little more here.’ I mean, you’re doing it because you’re doing it for the practice and for the community -- you’re not doing it for your own individual compensation.”

Levene also said he was proud of the way his practice has kept up with evolving medical technology over the past ve decades.

“When I started practice 50 years ago, if you had a heart attack, you were in the hospital for a month,” he said. “Now, you have a heart attack, you go home the next day.”

“ e advances in cardiology have been enormous over the past 50 years,” he con- tinued. “I mean, the things we’re doing now (that) we never did before are freaking amazing. I mean, they’re even mind-boggling to me.”

For example, doctors can now replace the main heart valve without surgery, by going through the leg, Levene said.

Another big advance in cardiology is an area called electrophysiology, which is a specialization in the electrical problems of the heart.

“To give an example, one of the common problems right now, you see it all on television, is atrial brillation - your heart goes out of rhythm a lot,” he said, adding that this problem can cause a stroke. “Our electrophysiologists are doing procedures that cure it and get people out of brillation forever, which is amazing.”

Levene also said he’s proud of South Denver Cardiology’s transitional heart failure clinic.

“Once people get out of the hospital, we see them usually within a week … and get them into specialized clinic,” he said. “It prevents readmission for heart failure. And that’s one of the biggest problems in the country, nancially. People go home with heart failure and are frequently readmitted within 30 days because of recurrences, and we’re preventing that.”

Levene encouraged people to consider South Denver Cardiology for their heart health needs, saying the practice is available, innovative and up-to-date.

After 50 years of cardiology at South Denver, Levene said he will be retiring in a year and a half, but he will miss his practice and the sta dearly.

“I’m crazy, I’m still working after 50 years – but I love it,” he said.

With three new doctors coming on board in the next few months, South Denver hopes to continue to meeting the community’s needs with innovative technology, modern solutions and personalized care.