Heart Health Blog | RMH Heart and Vascular Center » 2011

Want an Alternative to Unhealthy Sweeteners or Sugar? Try this Stevia Product.

Looking for an alternative to unhealthy sweeteners? The concentrated form of the shrub Stevia provides not only an excellent replacement to other sweeteners, but also gives the consumer other health benefits. Stevia does not produce adverse health effects that can arise after regular consumption of aspartame or other artificial sweeteners. Rather, Stevia is a source of antioxidants allowing the leaf to prevent DNA damage which is the key to longevity and preventing cancer, contrary to aspartame’s tendency to cause cancer. The main concern for aspartame use is DNA damage, in addition to birth defects, headaches, brain tumors, and mood disorders. Those side effects demonstrate the destructive capability of artificial sweeteners and provide excellent reason to support the switch to Stevia that actively protects the body.

Meet Ellen, the Summer RMH Heart Check Intern

My name is Ellen and I am a rising fourth year at UVA majoring in Religious Studies with a minor in Bioethics. I would like to explore the possible directions I could take in the health field and am thankful for this opportunity to be the RMH Heart Check intern this summer as it provides me with a variety of valuable experiences. With only a few days under my belt so far, I already am learning valuable information for my own life in addition to how the Heart Check program professionally advises participants with concrete ways to improve their lifestyle as a preventative measure against heart disease.

Calcium scoring CT Scan Can Help Detect Risk for Heart Disease

Harrisonburg resident David Detrow knew he was out of shape “from too many years of sitting behind a desk.” He knew his family had a history of heart disease. And he knew he was not eating as wisely as he should. So when he heard about the RMH Heart Check program last summer, he decided to make an appointment, even thought he wasn’t having any symptoms.