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Cardiologist Keith Anderson, MD, remembers the dark days of heart care.

During the mid-1970s, when Anderson worked as a hospital orderly in the coronary care unit at Methodist Central, little could be done for people suffering with angina. When patients experienced a heart attack during their hospital stay, Anderson would simply give them drugs and then leave them alone in a darkened room to weather the frightening, sometimes deadly pain.

"That was all we had back then," he offered as explanation. "Now, we can go to the cardiac cath lab, open up the heart, and put in a balloon or a stent to restore blood flow. But those images of people riding through a heart attack are still prominent in my mind."

Instead of scaring him off though, that early experience set the stage for Anderson's career. The son of a general physician, Anderson grew up around medicine. His father didn't push, but rather allowed his son to find his own way. After earning an undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt, Anderson took a few years off then returned to med school, graduating from the University of Tennessee Medical School in 1984. He joined the Sutherland Cardiology Clinic in 1990, where he continues to see patients and provide surgical care.

The technological advances that have taken place during Anderson's career have enabled him to better manage patients with heart disease, especially when compared to those early days.

"The biggest advance has been the coronary stent, because it just totally changed the way we treat heart patients," said Anderson. "We used balloons before stents and the recurrence rate (of blockages) was 50 percent. With a stent, it's closer to 5 percent and we can restore a person so they can have a normal life."

With improved tools at his fingertips, Anderson can offer those with heart disease a better quality of life. Now, "If we know you're a high-risk patient, we can put you on drugs and prevent you from having coronary disease. When it comes to genetic-based issues, we can better intervene," he said, adding that he's optimistic such advances will eventually make congestive heart failure more treatable as well.

Anderson's practice is busy; he routinely puts in 60 to 80 hours a week. Patient load has soared, too, over the years. Where Anderson used to see six to seven patients in a half-day, the number is now closer to 24 or 25. "The volume has gone up tremendously," he said, "because there are fewer doctors and we're treating an aging population." Since cardiologists are becoming harder to hire — younger physicians are scared off by the long hours, surgical demands, and declining reimbursement rates — the clinic has turned to nurse practitioners to help manage the load.

In addition to patient care, Anderson is an active member of the Memphis and Shelby County Medical Society. He served as the organization's president in 2008, traveling to Nashville and Washington during the course of the year to represent its 1,800 member organization. He's gained keen insight into the legislative issues impacting physicians today including Medicare regulation, tort reform, and healthcare delivery to the poor and uninsured.

"I think it's very important to talk with legislators because there are many forces that are adversarial and that are spending money talking to them: trial lawyers, insurance companies, the tobacco industry. We need to at least give our opinion," said Anderson. "There's also a fun factor, watching a law go through committee, the hallway negotiations. It's kind of exciting. I wish more physicians would do it."

One important change last year was the legislature's passage of a tort reform bill which, in part, requires a medical expert to review a case before a malpractice claim is filed. Anderson is optimistic that more transparency between doctors and patients will help lower the number of frivolous malpractice suits filed in Tennessee.

"If you do your best and you miss a diagnosis, that's part of practicing, that's not negligence. Physicians want to be transparent and know that we're doing or not doing the right thing. The only way to determine if someone is doing good practice is to have someone who can read charts and do analysis," said Anderson.

Behind his corner office at Sutherland Cardiology, a running path parallels the Wolf River, serving as a visual reminder of the importance exercise plays in staving off heart disease. "I enjoy walking and use the trail often," said Anderson.

To further shed workaday pressures, Anderson is an avid fisherman. His favorite destination is Destin, Florida, where he unwinds with his wife, Kay, and daughters Jordan, 20, and Kendall, 17. The beach is close by, so he can wile away mornings trolling for red snapper and amberjack. With the salt on his lips and the wind in his hair, the man-made objects Anderson uses to keep the heart healthy are replaced with nature's elixir: the sun, the surf and the pleasure of a life well-lived.

Tags:

cardiologist, Keith Anderson, Sutherland Cardiology

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