The NBC series Heartbeat follows single, sexy heart transplant surgeon Dr. Alexandra “Alex” Panttiere, who’s portrayed by the gorgeous Melissa George. The series is inspired by real-life heart surgeon Dr. Kathy Magliato, who wrote the book, “Heart Matters: A Memoir of a Female Surgeon.” There aren’t many female heart surgeons (approximately 180 in the US over the past 50 years), let alone one with an MBA, a husband (a liver transplant surgeon) and two kids.
In Heart Matters, Dr. Magliato doesn’t hide her moments of exhaustion — moments TV’s Dr. Alex doesn’t seem to experience. At least not like Magliato, who writes: “How I wish I could be lazy. Just once.” Dr. Magliato will just have to live vicariously through Alex on Heartbeat which premieres on March 22 at 9pm on NBC. It will move to Wednesdays at 8pm on March 23.
