College of Medicine – Phoenix Hosts Second Annual Zumba For the Heart Event on Go Red for Women Day

The University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix hosted the second annual Zumba for the Heart Feb. 7 to support heart disease awareness.

More than 60 people came to the Phoenix Biomedical Campus for an invigorating after-work Zumba class in the Virginia G. Piper Auditorium.

The college hosted the outreach event to encourage women to participate in a fun exercise with friends, while learning about their risks for heart attack or stroke. Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer of women, causing one in three deaths each year.

In addition to the College of Medicine – Phoenix, the Phoenix chapter of The Links, Inc., and the Delta Beta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. presented the free class.

Joan Sherwood, president of the Phoenix chapter of the Links, said heart disease has a significant impact on African-American women.

“We are championing this cause to be a resource of engagement around this issue and hopefully bring along other ambassadors who will spread the word about the importance of heart health,” she said.

Links is a national service organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for all through community service.

Event organizer Maria Benson said she hoped the group exercise was fun and reinvigorated participants to keep moving.

“The goal is to reinforce fun and fitness with friends,” she said. “It is just as gratifying to do something fun and fit as it would be to go for food and drinks.”

Zumba is an aerobic fitness program featuring movements inspired by various styles of Latin American dance and performed primarily to Latin American dance music. The Zumba for the Heart routine is considered low- to mid-impact aerobics for beginners to advanced.