Pamper your heart on Heart Month and beyond

HEART attack or myocardial infarction (MI) is the number one killer in the world and in the Philippines. It is a predator that attacks the old and the young. Angina, which is commonly associated with chest pain is a prelude to acute St-elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) or heart attack.

Since most of the deaths caused by heart attacks and stroke, among other noncommunicable diseases, occur in lowand middle-income countries, the Philippine Heart Association, Inc. together with various societies of interventionist has initially conducted dialogue with Philhealth to include STEMI in the health coverage. It’s a work in progress, according to Dr. Dr. Agapito “Bimboy” Fortuno, one of the esteemed moderators during the virtual Usapang Puso sa Puso Forum entitled “NANDYAN NA BA SI ANGINA? Chest Pain, May Choice Ka!” on February 24, 2021 via Zoom and FB Live.

Other than that, according to Dr. Iris Garcia, the group is working on clinical practice guideline to come up with reasonable priced treatment for heart problems. This includes making the heart disease drugs to be included among the essential drugs to be part of Philhealth coverage.

Angina could be signs leading to MI that most people/patients chose to ignore, instead of seeing it as a wake-up call. MI is a life-threatening medical emergency and delays in seeing the doctor results in high mortality rate of heart attack patients. According to PHA doctors, it takes 6 hours from the onset of chest pain that a Filipino MI patient seeks consult. The it takes an hour to administer thrombolytics medicine infusion at the ER (door-to-needle) and another 3 hours and 33 minutes ensues to complete angioplasty (door-to-device).

There are currently 50 hospitals around the country that are equipped with a Cath Lab. These tertiary hospitals are capable of performing angiogram and angioplasty. Twenty-one of these 50 hospital are Phaaccredited Cardiology Training Institutions.

The Mary Mediatrix Medical Center (MMMC), a Pha-accredited Cardiology Training Institution, in Lipa Batangas, pioneered the creation of the first CODE HB “Heart of Batangas” STEMI Network Program in the Philippines on Feb. 26, 2015. CODE HB, a brainchild of Dr. Ariel Miranda, a highly esteemed Filipino interventional cardiologist, aims to provide timely thrombolysis and primary PCI to patients with STEMI to reduce morbidity and mortality especially in the rural communities.

CODE HB STEMI Network Philippines mainly focuses on early detection and prompt delivery of care for patients with acute coronary syndrome in Batangas and nearby provinces, utilizing the “hub and spoke model” in which MMMC serves as the hub and the neighboring non-pci hospitals as spokes.

“Seek medical assistance if you feel chest pains or shortness of breath so that your condition can be properly diagnosed and treated. Have a busy, healthy lifestyle. Pamper your heart on Heart Month and beyond, PHA said.

For more information about the PHA Advocacy – STEMI (acute Stelevationmyocardial Infarction) Consult and the STEMICONSULT APP, visit www.philheart.org.