Yesterday, almost all of my classmates wore red to participate in National Wear Red Day, raising awareness of women's heart disease. It was pretty neat to see everyone sporting their red, similar to St. Patrick's day with green, but for a real cause and not just to justify a night of partying that will follow.
Here is some more information on this very interesting, national holiday:
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/educational/hearttruth/index.htm
I am working on writing a systematic review for a class seeking look at the literature and compare data on the question, is aerobic exercise an effective intervention for patients with congestive heart failure?
It is sad to learn about the severity of the symptoms of heart disease, its fatality rates, and how debilitating it can be. After all, it is often our heart that stops in the end (regardless of the end-stage disease) -- heart failure is the most common cause of death. There is extensive research to show that early and frequent aerobic exercise AND resistive exercise minimize the risks of heart disease/heart failure before onset. I encourage all to get into aerobic exercise and resistive training BEFORE you develop heart disease! At a certain point, aerobic exercise is too intense for the heart to sustain.
