By Gio J. Tanudtanud
THE SOUTHERN Philippines Medical Center will roll out a campaign to raise awareness through information dissemination for the prevention of heart diseases in celebration of the Philippine Heart Month 2024.
At the Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM Ecoland on Feb 26, Consultant, Adult Cardiology Head of SPMC Heart Institute, Dr. Elfred M. Batalla, said that they are campaigning for the prevention of heart diseases as this remains as one of the major causes of death in the Philippines.
According to Dr. Elfred M. Batalla, as of 2023, one of the leading causes of deaths in the Philippines is Ischemic heart disease, also known as coronary heart disease (CHD). It is followed by other diseases like cerebrovascular disease, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and hypertension.
“So ang number one killer pa gihapon sa karon nationwide or even internationally is Ischemic Heart disease and it’s still true sa Davao City,” he said.
High cholesterol level, diabetes, and the lifestyle of people are the factors causing heart diseases. Two major factors in lifestyle such as non-modifiable and modifiable also contribute to the causes.
Non-modifiable refers to age, sex, and genetics, while modifiable refers to habits like exercise, diet, smoking, alcohol intake, and management of stress.
He also added that there is an increasing number of patients of Ischemic heart diseases and other diseases at the Heart Institute in SPMC.
Dr Batalla encouraged everyone to undergo regular check ups to their cardiologists to check the risk factors, do screening tests, blood tests, and the level of cholesterol, and to examine if the person is diabetic or not.
He also advised again relying on the BPM gauging devices (sphygmomanometer) on measuring blood pressure and to take the right prescribed medicines while avoiding taking food supplements that have no approved therapeutic claims to avoid health risks.
“Kadtong tinuod na medicine wala man naga advertise. And so ang naga advertise man are those no approved therapeutic claims. So there will be a false security that you are drinking the right medicine but in fact actually you are not drinking the right medicine and that would be detrimental,” he said.
