Matters of the Heart

How is it that this organ, the heart, became the symbol of love?

Philosophers have argued that this muscular organ (about the size of a closed fist) is linked to our strongest emotions. The familiar symbol of the heart representing love developed in the 15th century and became popular in Europe in the 16th Century.

Think “Poconos” and envision mountain scenery, resorts, golf courses.

Think “world-class heart care” in the same region and think Lehigh Valley Hospital–Pocono. Tony Cadwalader of Unionville, Chester County, Pa. can vouch for that.

On Saturday, Aug. 20, 2022, 58-year-old Cadwalader started the day playing in a mixed doubles tennis tournament in the private Tobyhanna Township community where he and his wife, Jennifer, have a second home.

Finished with his match, he sat down in the shade on the bleachers to watch his wife playing tennis on a nearby court. Then his world went dark. He collapsed from a heart attack. His heart stopped beating.

Those at the tennis courts sprang into action nearly as fast as a Serena Williams serve. Someone ran to a nearby ballfield to get help from a young man with lifeguard training. The tennis pro retrieved an automated external defibrilla- tor (AED) from the pro shop. After cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), the AED was used, lifting Cadwalader off the bench where he lay. His eyes opened. He coughed. His heart was beating again. “My wife says it was just like in the movies,” he says.

A non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma survivor, Cadwalader was lucid and answering questions and chose to be taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital (LVH)–Pocono for treatment after being told by responding emergency medical personnel about the quality heart care there as a full-service heart hospital.

The team at LVH–Pocono knew