Constant monitoring needed for better heart health, hypertension awareness
The Covid-19 pandemic has been ongoing for more than two years. With gloomy reports of deaths at the height of this global health crisis, it was still not the leading cause of death among Filipinos.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) revealed that for 2021, the second year of Covid-19, coronary heart disease remained the country’s top killer, where hypertension, a condition often linked with coronary heart disease, is often called the “silent killer.”
That is why, according to Dr. Alejandro Diaz of the Philippine Society of Hypertension (PSH), it is important to continue building and promoting awareness for conditions like this.
“Cardiovascular disease affects a third of adults in the world, and it is the largest epidemic ever known to mankind. So therefore, raised blood pressure continues to be the biggest contributor to the global burden of disease and to global mortality leading to around 10 million deaths each year,” said Diaz, who leads the PSH campaign called “May Measurement Month 2022” or the MMM, which kicked off in May and will run until August 31 this year.
Given the reluctance to go to doctors’ clinics, Filipinos are advised to make a habit of monitoring their health with useful and convenient tools especially with the increasing number of Covid-19 cases—again— in the country.
Preventive care
Dr. DIAZ emphasized that the practice of constantly monitoring one’s health contributes to what he calls “preventive care” which helps mitigate the risks of diseases. “Essentially, we know that it is better to prevent the disease from happening rather than curing it when it is already there. Moreover, heart-related conditions such as hypertension are best managed when one is on top of health monitoring,” he explained.
“If you look at the economic estimates in managing hypertension, it’s US$370 billion annually. That is the estimated global direct medical cost of hypertension. But if you prevent it, you can actually save US$100 billion per year—that is if you effectively manage the blood pressure, and more so if you prevent them from developing hypertension,” explains Dr. Deborah Ona, PSH President.
Dr. Ona said that through the MMM, they aim to provide diet and lifestyle treatment advice to participants with high normal to hypertensive blood pressure ranges and gather significant data on hypertension to motivate the government to improve local screening facilities and contribute to the reduction of the global burden of diseases related to raised blood pressure.
Ideally, she said a monthly checkin on the blood pressure is advised, which can be done through health centers. Nevertheless, she said more frequent checking can also be done, especially for hypertensive patients. That is why, she emphasized, it is advisable to keep a blood pressure monitor handy at home.
There is also no need to wait for a doctor’s recommendation before implementing a monitoring regimen. In fact, she said having this information ready in advance can help physicians have a better-guided diagnosis and tweak prescriptions as needed. Many health experts emphasize the importance of a consistent monitoring regimen in the proper management, and more ideally, the effective prevention of hypertension.
During the May Measurement Month 2022 kick-off, Dr. Ona reiterated the need to screen and measure all patients, regardless of age. “Those who are 18 years old and above should know their cardiovascular risks. And then, we need to encourage them to institute lifestyle modification at the outset so that we can prevent them from developing cardiovascular disease.”
Manual or digital blood pressure monitors
WHAT was highlighted when speaking of preference for either manual or digital blood pressure monitors are the benefits of the latter. “For one, digital blood pressure monitors offer convenient features such as easy-to-use cuffs and highly developed algorithms for blood-pressure measurement that allow quick measuring. Digital blood pressure monitors are also more user-friendly for those measuring their blood pressure from the comforts of their homes as it does not require any medical background or skill to practice,” Dr. Ona explained.
But most importantly, she said the major reason automatic blood pressure monitors are more advantageous over the auscultatory method is the accuracy of readings is ensured. An important consideration for choosing a blood pressure monitor is that it is clinically validated, such as the OMRON digital blood pressure monitors.
OMRON, a staunch supporter of MMM since 2017, hosted the streaming of MMM 2022 kick-off program via its official social media channels. OMRON has been a partner of the PSH in enhancing awareness levels on the benefits of home blood pressure monitoring by providing free checkups in pharmacies and densely populated areas across the country.
“OMRON Healthcare has been advocating to decrease the prevalence and ease the burden of hypertension. Through our support, we hope to encourage more Filipinos to practice blood pressure monitoring as a health habit,” said Yusuke Kato, General Manager for OMRON Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd–philippine Branch (Healthcare Division).
Nonetheless, what matters most is that Filipinos ensure that their blood pressure is regularly being measured following the safe and correct procedure.