Dr. Eric J. Dippel, MD, FACC doesn’t hold back in this episode. From bringing prosthetic heart valves to school as a kid to spending eight hours placing 30 stents in a patient the system later abandoned, Dippel’s story is one of obsession, frustration, and defiance. He shares why he walked away from hospitals run by administrators, how insurance decisions literally kill people, and why building his own practice brought both freedom and loneliness.
🎧 If you’ve ever felt like the system makes it easier to abandon patients than to fight for them… this is for you.
00:00 Intro
03:40 Bringing prosthetic heart valves to school
09:00 Miguel on why he never felt part of U.S. vascular surgery.
16:28 Eight hours, 30 stents, and blood flow restored
19:35 From saving his leg to watching him die
24:02 “When you cut their legs off because you think it’s cheaper, you’re killing people”
30:20 Hospitals run by administrators, not physicians
31:00 Walking away from hospitals
49:16 Advice for young physicians
💡 Who Should Listen
Doctors frustrated with hospital politics, early-career physicians weighing independence, and anyone who wants to hear how one case, one patient, and one decision can change a career forever.
About Eric Dippel
Dr. Eric Dippel is a cardiologist from Davenport, Iowa. He studied Biomedical Engineering at Northwestern before completing medical school and residency at the University of Iowa, followed by a Cardiology fellowship at the University of Kansas and Interventional Cardiology and Endovascular training at the University of Cincinnati. He is one of the few physicians to complete coronary and peripheral training in a single year. After years in hospitals, he left to build his own independent practice.
Connect with Eric
👤 US News Health: Dr. Eric J. Dippel
💼 LinkedIn: Eric Dippel, MD FACC FSCAI
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🐦 X: @VascularPodcast
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