Southern Strength: Covenant Health South’s Cardiac Rehab Helps Patient Regain Health
- 4 minute read.
- Last Updated: 6/27/2025
Seymour is in the heart of a region that’s within a day’s drive from Kim Arnott’s family, including his 43 grandchildren. But when he and his wife decided to make the move from Virginia to Tennessee for retirement, they had no idea his heart was about to be in peril.
Realizing “Something Wasn’t Right”
Ironically, the blockages in Arnott’s heart were discovered because he was doing something healthy. Homebound during the COVID-19 pandemic, he and his wife began walking outdoors. Arnott, 67, noticed he was getting tired more quickly than he should have.
“And I just didn’t feel right,” Arnott says. “I didn’t feel bad. I just didn’t feel right.”
Active and strong but aware there was a history of heart disease in his family, Arnott decided it would be a good idea to check in with a physician. A cardiologist subsequently ordered a stress test.
“I failed that miserably, and everything moved pretty quick after that,” Arnott says. He soon underwent a coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) on three vessels in his heart.
After surgery, Arnott began cardiac rehabilitation at Covenant Health South. The Chapman Highway facility, which opened in March 2023, offers convenient services to South Knoxville and Seymour area residents who previously had to travel greater distances in the past for care.
Heart patients get a combination of heart-healthy education and monitored exercise. The cardiac rehab program at Covenant Health offers double monitoring, where a nurse monitors critical data from al lthe patients who are exercising at the facility. At the same time, a cardiac rehab professional using an iPad checks vital signs for each patient while superivsing exercise.
“That’s the best thing. Let’s face it, if you’ve just come out of surgery, you’ve got limitations, but how do you know what your limitations are?” Arnott says. “I didn’t have to worry if I was doing too much, because they monitor the whole time.”
Cardiac Rehab: On the Path to an Active Life
“It’s actually a ‘prevention and rehabilitation’ approach,” says Chris Spruiell, supervisor of cardiac rehab at Covenant Health South. “It modifies risk factors and develops lifelong habits and changes.”
Spruiell says each patient receives a personalized plan, tailored to meet the individual’s needs and level of ability. The goal is to discharge patients with the tools they need to keep living life with strength and stamina.
“This is kind of a launching pad,” Spruiell says. “It teaches them exactly how hard to work out, what to do with their diet, how to shop for food, and how to make choices in a restaurant. It teaches them what to do from now on.”
Arnott’s daughter is a heart transplant patient and recently visited from Virginia. She joined her parents on a hike to Abrams Falls in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The family enjoyed the journey together, with father and daughter inspiring each other to take healthy living to heart.
As the first patient to graduate from the cardiac rehabilitation program at the new Covenant Health South facility, Arnott advises futre heart patients at the facility that cardiac rehab is hard work. He also says it’s worth it — a worthwhile effort he was more than willing to do for his family.
“Life is precious. I’ve got 43 grandkids to watch grow up, and I’ve got great-grandkids,” Arnott says. “I want to accomplish as much as I can. Cardiac rehab allowed me to safely accomplish what I could.”
Cardiopulmonary rehabilitation is available by physician referral at Covenant Health South. The program is designed for patients who have experienced a heart, lung or respiratory event. In addition to cardiac rehabilitation, Covenant Health South offers imaging, nephrology, physical therapy, pregnancy care, primary care, urgent care, and women’s health services.
For more information, visit CovenantHealthSouth.com.
