It was as if Heath McCarver, MD, was born in the fast lane. When it came to completing some of life’s most important milestones, he seemed to zip by everyone else quickly and got there early. Born in New Mexico, he moved with his Air Force dad, nurse mother, and older brother seventeen times before the sixth grade. They finally parked the family in Texarkana, Arkansas and settled there until he graduated from high school. It was in Texarkana, while still in high school, that he found two passions that lasted a lifetime. First in the wife, Karen, whom he met as a high school sophomore, and second, his career in medicine which he began as a junior. His mother’s career as a nurse rubbed off on him so he knew early on that he wanted to go into nursing. When he got the itch in high school to get his life started and earn real money, he enrolled in the two year RN program at the local college while he was still a junior in high school. Therefore, during the summer he was eighteen, he picked up two degrees, his high school degree and his nursing degree. Soon afterward, he was working as an RN at various hospitals including a stint as a nurse at Arkansas Heart Hospital in Little Rock, where he still works as an anesthesiologist. So much for life in the fast lane.

 

He is proudest that he worked all the way through medical school at the University of Arkansas, the only student who was able to do so, while also becoming chief resident. But it was during Heath’s career as a nurse at Arkansas Heart Hospital that led to his desire to pursue anesthesiology as a career. He watched and learned from other doctors and staff who mentored him through the process. Since an anesthesiologist controls all aspects of the patient’s vital signs before, during and after surgery, Heath was attracted to the technical aspects of the job – the actual procedures. Given that every muscle in the body is paralyzed within 6 seconds under anesthesia, his early training to always “pay attention” when treating patients still holds its spell.

 

But working at Heart Hospital in itself is rewarding and doctors (as well as patients) tend to thrive there. Because it’s ranked number one in the state for patient care and one of the top heart hospitals in the nation, Heath simply finds it a great place to work. He says it is because it is managed by physicians so there’s less red tape, faster time to implement new technologies, patients recover faster, and it attracts like minded doctors. The hospital focuses on the patient’s health using the newest technologies and the most current surgical techniques, so he appreciates how all of the cylinders fire in unison. He is a part of the team assigned to each patient so he is intricately involved in their day to day care.

 

New imaging technology, such as the Siemens SOMATOM Definition AS 128-Slice CT scanner has improved patient care so doctors are able to clearly pin-point heart trauma prior to surgery. Arkansas Heart Hospital was the first facility in the state to introduce this cutting edge technology which allows doctors to see a more detailed view of the heart or other organs than a traditional CT scan. However, while the technology has moved toward better screening and diagnosing of patients, it actually has moved toward more invasive surgeries rather than less invasive. Heart surgeries have gravitated to more “hands on” than ever before. However, the technology allows doctors to pin-point more accurately prior to surgery what tissue needs attention, rendering faster recovery for the patients post surgery.

 

Outside of work, his life is full with his wife Karen and three sons; Hudson, 13, Grayson, 9, and Keegan, 6. Typical of life in the fast lane, he runs daily but also relaxes at his lake house where they enjoy boating and water skiing. Karen, who has a degree in marketing, is the artistic one. She’s a full time mother and homemaker and stays involved with their kids. The middle son, Grayson, has autism so they are involved in numerous organizations dedicated to improving the lives of autistic children. Now 39, married for 16 years, with 3 kids, and involved in medicine since he graduated from high school, Heath is rooted in work that he loves and finds fulfilling, at a hospital where he has worked in some capacity for most of his adult life. He doesn’t see himself as anyone special, crediting his success to his parents and the upbringing they provided. While it is his job to put patients to sleep while surgeons fix their hearts, and then wake them up afterwards, his favorite part of the job is watching them walk out the door happier, healthier people. Since 90 percent of the patients at Heart Hospital are heart patients, they experience an immediate improvement after surgery. True to form, even in his practice, he likes it when things move quickly.