Road to recovery with CFVH Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Services

Sponsored by Cape Fear Valley Health.

Bill Pollitt had a heart attack 23 years ago and remembers it like it was yesterday.

“I woke up one Saturday morning about 6 o’clock, and I was making coffee and suddenly I felt a strange pain up here,” he said, rubbing the right side of his neck. “And I wondered, what the heck is that?”

At first, he thought he had pulled a muscle or had a random crick in his neck, but the pain started to get worse. He swallowed a couple of aspirin, and his wife drove him to the emergency room at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center. 

“As soon as I got there, I had a heart attack,” he said. “The pain was intense, and fortunately I was already on a gurney when it happened.”

Doctors performed a cardiac catheterization, a minimally invasive procedure that calls for inserting a thin catheter into a blood vessel and guiding it to the heart. Cauterizations can diagnose heart problems and can also open blocked arteries.   

The procedure showed that plaque inside an artery had caused Pollitt’s heart attack, and he underwent a bypass procedure, which went smoothly, he said.

“I arrived at the emergency department that morning, at about 6:30 a.m., and by noon, I was out of surgery with the bypass, and everything was fine,” Pollitt said.

Afterwards, he began a rehabilitation regimen, starting with simple slow walks and gentle exercise under the supervision of his doctors and Rae Ashley, director of cardiopulmonary rehab & vascular health for Cape Fear Valley Health.

Eventually, Pollitt graduated to the HealthPlex of Cape Fear Valley Health.

At 65,000 square feet, HealthPlex is Fayetteville’s largest fitness and wellness center and serves both patients going through rehabilitation programs and the general public.

Ashley, who has both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in exercise science, started his career in cardiopulmonary rehabilitation in 1987. He’s been with Cape Fear Valley Health for 23 years.

He says his career has been rewarding, and he has built long-term relationships with patients like Pollitt.

“When you get to work with patients for a long period of time, you share their success,” Ashley said. “Bill’s been exercising here for over 20 years.”

At Cape Fear Valley Health, cardio/pulmonary rehabilitation is a medically supervised program designed to help patients with cardiovascular or pulmonary disorders improve their overall health, physical function and quality of life. 

The rehabilitation center, located in the rear of Cape Fear Valley Medical Center, offers clinical services and has a small gymnasium, where Ashley says, a team of doctors, nurses and exercise physiologists lead patients through what they call “phase two” of their recovery from surgical procedures.

“In phase two, they come to the cardiopulmonary rehab center three days a week for 12 weeks,” Ashley said. “We hold a graduation ceremony after 36 sessions.”

Then the patients have the option of continuing their exercise regimen at HealthPlex in an open-ended program and aim for three workouts a week, Ashley said. There are a variety of membership levels, and in addition to cardiac rehabilitation, the facility offers group exercise, aquatic therapy, tailored fitness programs and other amenities. A trained staff, including medical professionals and an exercise physiologist, is on site.

People of all ages, even up to 96, enjoy taking advantage of HealthPlex, Ashley said.

At 92, Nancy Broadwell visits HealthPlex as often as she can. But she recently injured her knee, and her doctors advised her to rest and heal before resuming her regular exercise routine.

“Healthplex has been very good for me, and I’ve stayed in pretty good shape because of it,” she said. “I’m just having a bad time right now because of my knee.”

In 2003, Broadwell had heart bypass surgery, successfully completed her rehabilitation and started exercising at HealthPlex. She recently had aortic valve replacement surgery and says she is recovering well. She enjoys exercising and looks forward to returning to the HealthPlex.

“I walk, participate in group exercise, and work out on the machines,” she said. “Staying active has kept me going very well.”

In addition to heart attacks, bypass procedures and valve replacements, patients arrive in cardiopulmonary rehab with a variety of conditions, including an individual who had undergone a heart transplant.

“Even major diagnoses can bring individuals into cardio rehab for recovery, and they do benefit from it,” Ashley said.

While physical activity may play a big role in recovering from cardiopulmonary problems and procedures, there is often more to fitness. At Cape Fear Valley Health, patients also receive nutritional advice from a dietician and stress management through counseling, Ashley said.

“Our team works together in a multidisciplinary approach,” Ashley said.

Regular visits to HealthPlex also provide a social outlet for people, which is important for their overall health.

Pollitt says he has made lifelong friends with both patients and staff, including Meg Morrozoff, a staff nurse, and Mary Rister, an exercise physiologist. Both have been working at HealthPlex for over 20 years, nearly as long as Pollitt has been exercising there, and they feel like family to him.

“I have seen Mary through the birth of three kids and now she’s a grandmother,” Pollitt said. “And both Meg and Mary have seen me through a shoulder replacement, two knee replacements and bladder cancer.”

Pollitt’s cancer was caught early, during a routine physical, and he’s made a full recovery.

An Army veteran who moved to Fayetteville from Maryland, Pollitt and his wife Patti owned The Pollitt Selection Framing Gallery in Fayetteville for almost 40 years before closing the shop in 2016.

Despite his heart attack and bout with cancer, Pollitt has enjoyed an active lifestyle, kayaking and hiking, including in the Grand Canyon. He doesn’t pursue those activities any longer, but he has been a master gardener for 27 years and enjoys volunteering at the Cape Fear Botanical Garden as much as he can.

“I’ve had excellent care, and my health hasn’t slowed me down at all,” he said.

He has his team at Cape Fear Valley Health to thank for that.

To learn more about Cape Fear Valley Health’s Cardio/Pulmonary Rehabilitation Services, visit capefearvalley.com/services/cardiopulmonary-rehabilitation-services. 

Read CityView Magazine’s “Fall in Fayetteville” September 2025 e-edition here.