The American Heart Association’s (AHA) Vermont Go Red for Women Luncheon attracted more than 500 attendees to the organization’s eighth annual event at the Sheraton Burlington Hotel and Conference Center on Thursday, January 29, 2015. The University of Vermont College of Medicine, University of Vermont Medical Center and Cardiovascular Research Institute served as co-sponsors of the event, which included a morning panel discussion, silent auction, and luncheon keynote and survivor presentations.

UVM researchers – including four graduate students – have received more than $840,000 in funding from the AHA since 2011.

This year’s Go Red for Women event featured a presentation by cardiac survivor and Essex, Vt. resident Kristi Soule, a patient of Robert Lobel, M.D., UVM assistant professor of medicine. She suffered a sudden cardiac arrest at the age of 35 in August 2012. The event closed with a keynote presentation by Vermont Girls on the Run Executive Director Nancy Heydinger.

During February, which is American Heart Month, members of the UVM College of Medicine community will be participating in a variety of heart health promotional activities. Susan Lakoski, M.D., M.S., assistant professor of medicine and director, Cardiovascular Prevention Program for Cancer Patients, will be the featured guest on UVM Extension’s “Across the Fence” program on WCAX-TV Channel 3, and will discuss cardiovascular disease facts. She will also promote Wear Red Day, which takes place on Friday, February 6.

College of Medicine Wear Red Day activities include: Wear Red Day photo and a challenge by Professor of Biochemistry and Foundations Course Director Paula Tracy, Ph.D., who will donate $5 to the Vermont AHA for each medical student who wears red. In addition, medical student Sruthi Sakamuri ’17 and a group of first-year medical students will be distributing Go Red pins and decorating first-year lockers. Sakamuri, who serves on the AHA Vermont Community Action and Advocacy Committees, is also encouraging students who are Vermont residents to engage in letter-writing to state representatives to promote awareness about the negative impact of sugary beverages, in conjunction with a campaign the Alliance for a Healthier Vermont is currently running.

On February 15, Mary Cushman, M.D., M.Sc., professor of medicine, will be a guest on the UVM Medical Center's "Healthsource" program, which airs on several local radio stations. She will discuss her research, the AHA's Life's Simple 7 program, and the Cardiovascular Research Institute of Vermont.