Wear Red This Friday

Hello again!

(For those who are new subscribers this month: the last issue of the month is a longer, magazine-style newsletter. All other Wednesdays, you will receive a shorter, “Weekly Heart-Health News” letter.)

I have a lot of news to report this time!

First, tomorrow marks the beginning of American Heart Month, and this Friday, February 2, is Go Red Day, to raise awareness of heart disease in women. So, please wear red (or a shade of red) this Friday to show your support! It doesn’t have to be all red all over—even some red in your socks will do. 😉 

Also: tomorrow, February 1, marks the launch of my new newsletter, Positive Vibes, a feel-good newsletter dedicated to delivering good news and fostering an attitude of gratitude and healthy optimism.

As you’ve heard from me many times before, optimism is good for your heart. Optimists live longer. Study after study has shown that a consistently optimistic attitude toward life lowers blood pressure and heart rate, decreases stress and stress responses, lowers inflammation, and even decreases the risk of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.

Approaching things with a spirit of optimism makes life more manageable.

Optimism also leads us to treat one another better and with more civility.

So if you’re interested in getting a small ray of sunshine in your inbox every other Thursday (so as not to conflict with this newsletter), sign up for free and you’ll see the inaugural issue of Positive Vibes in your inbox tomorrow morning!

(“Positive Vibes” was formerly known as “Dr. Ali’s Author Newsletter,” so if you’ve already subscribed to that, you will automatically receive the Positive Vibes newsletter.)

To your health,

Yasmine

Heart-Health News You Can Use

Depending upon your situation, you may not find all 10 of these fitness goals to be “realistic,” but I’ll bet you can find at least one of them to pursue:

Make no mistake, heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, and has been for 100 years! (It is also the leading cause of death worldwide.)

And, in another example of how what’s good for your heart is good for the rest of your body:

Global Health News

This newsletter now has readers from around the world—thank you all!—so I’ll be featuring a new section on global health in your monthly e-zine.

Given the popularity—and push by pharmaceutical companies—of new weight-loss drugs, I found this interesting: in Germany, there is a law that prevents the health-insurance system from paying for weight-loss drugs, and the health ministry has no plans to change it:

And in Australia, the Australian Institute of Fitness (AIF) has released its predictions for 2024 fitness trends:

Test Your Knowledge

Which of the following is true about your resting heart rate (pulse)? (Answer below, after Quote of the Month.)

A. The higher your resting heart rate, the more physically fit you are.

B. Normal resting heart rate is 60-100 beats per minute (bpm).

C. Normal resting heart rate is 45 - 80 bpm.

D. Resting heart rate does not change with age.

Quote of the Month

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Answer to the “Test Your Knowledge” Quiz:

B. Normal resting heart rate is 60-100 beats per minute (bpm).

The more physically fit you are, the lower your resting heart rate (your heart rate when you’re not exercising or exerting yourself) will be. This is assuming you are otherwise healthy, of course, because there are cardiac conditions that cause an abnormally low heart rate known as bradycardia, usually accompanied by symptoms such as dizziness or fainting.

But Olympic athletes, especially swimmers and cyclists, are known to have resting heart rates as low as the mid-40s. And many other athletes, even those who just keep in shape using their home gym or running trails, can have a resting heart rate in the 50s.

This is because a lower resting heart rate indicates that your heart is stronger and pumping more efficiently with each beat, so it takes fewer beats per minute to pump out the blood the rest of your body needs.

Here’s a good summary on resting heart rate:

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