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IT was
supposed to be a case of sore throat but the doctor
recommended that she spend at least a day in the
hospital.
Anna
Angeles, a communications specialist, went for a
sore-throat checkup after going to a videoke bar with a
couple of friends the night before. After routine tests,
including a blood-pressure examination, the doctor
declared that she is hypertensive and must be confined
for at least a day to monitor her blood pressure.
Angeles
disagreed with the doctor, and said she feels no single
symptom of high blood pressure. The physician said she
may be asymptomatic but she will collapse anytime unless
her blood pressure is immediately managed.
The
Philippine Heart Association (PHA) said many Filipinos
with hypertension are not aware of their condition
because it can exist without symptoms.
Dubbed
as a “silent killer,” hypertension affects about 10.5
million of the Philippine population, with 16 percent
not aware of it and only 20 percent able to control
their high blood pressure, according to a 2007 PHA
study. Globally, hypertension accounts for about one in
eight deaths, or 7 million annually.
“While
great strides have been made in the research and
development of pharmacological therapies for
hypertension, the prevalence of high blood pressure
still continues to rise. Worse, a vast majority of
hypertension cases remain undetected, undiagnosed and
untreated,” said Dr. Ramon Abarquez, founding chairman
of the Philippine Society of Hypertension (PSH), in a
press briefing over the weekend.
Dr.
Efren Vicaldo, PHA president, said 8 out of 10
hypertensive patients are still unable to get treatment
despite aggressive efforts to control high blood
pressure and prevent heart diseases.
Cardiovascular disease is the No. 1 cause of death and
the seventh leading cause of morbidity among Filipinos,
according to Department of Health (DOH) records.
Dr.
Yolanda Oliveros, head of the DOH’s Disease Prevention
and Control Center, cited a 2008 survey by the Food and
Nutrition Research Institute showing 22 percent of
Filipinos are hypertensive.
High
blood pressure can cause serious damage to the heart,
eyes, brain and kidneys, and is the leading cause of
cardiovascular disease and stroke.
Abarquez
said a person would know his or her chances of
developing hypertension by looking at three things:
heredity, environment and behavior.
“Know
your roots. If someone in your family has hypertension,
chances are you may have that, too,” said Abarquez,
noting the importance of a regular blood-pressure test.
Other
risk factors for developing hypertension include
smoking, excessive eating, lack of exercise, diabetes
and lipidemia.
An early
hypertension treatment can reduce the possibility of
heart failure and stroke by 50 percent, according to
Abarquez.
“Unfortunately, once established, hypertension problem
is for life. Compliance with prescribed medications and
clinic follow-ups are mandatory to prevent target-organ
damage,” he said.
To
increase awareness on hypertension, the PHA and its
partners have launched four 15-seconder television
infomercials that seek to warn Filipinos of the danger
of high blood pressure.
The
campaign, dubbed as “Deadma? Dead Ka!” talks of four
things Filipinos should watch out for in seeing early
signs of hypertension: waist circumference, cholesterol
level, eating habits and stress. |
