Mayor Robert Zimmerman (far right) holds up the township proclamation recognizing February as heart month in Mantua as committeemen John Legge (left to right), Jason Snyder and Jack Steen look on.
The Mantua Township Committee proclaimed February heart month in the community at its Feb. 9 meeting.
The proclamation is meant to raise awareness of heart disease and cardiovascular health. Particular attention this year is being paid to the condition known as atrial fibrillation (AFib), which is characterized by irregular and rapid heartbeat.
For Mayor Robert Zimmerman, the proclamation is personal; he had open-heart surgery 14 years ago after a significant blockage was found in his left anterior descending (LAD) artery. The condition is known as the “widow maker” because its survival rate is only 12% if it occurs outside a hospital setting, according to the American Heart Association.
Zimmerman’s blockage was detected before a heart attack occurred.
“This is a very important proclamation for me,” he explained. “I often joke that it’s near and dear to my heart. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, affecting men and women of all ages and races. Nearly half of American adults – including about 470,000 in New Jersey alone – are affected by cardiovascular disease, including high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, congestive heart failure, stroke and congenital heart defects.”
The numbers come from the New Jersey Department of Health, which reported that about 18,000 state residents died from heart disease in 2023. In previous years, the township has presented the proclamation to a resident, but not this year.
“There’s plenty of residents that have heart disease,” Zimmerman noted. “But many like to keep it more private and they don’t like to be in the public’s eye.”
Special attention was brought to AFib because Zimmerman first experienced it about six months ago and has continued to do so.
“I’m being treated for it through medication,” he explained. “It doesn’t seem to be working; I’m going in and out of it on a regular basis. I’m probably going to have to seek out other treatments. This is something that’s affecting me personally. I feel as a mayor it gives me an opportunity to let people know that I have these things going on and have been dealing with it for 14 years now.
“I want to be able to help others who could be dealing with the same thing.”
