Partnership to enhance cardiologists’ skills in HF care
Heart failure (HF), or pumapal-yang puso, is a serious life-threatening condition in which the heart weakens and cannot pump enough blood to fully meet the oxygen demand of the body.
Over time, if not treated properly, HF leads to a cascade of changes, punctuated by acute episodes that cause severe fatigue; breathlessness; damage particularly to the heart, kidneys and liver and, ultimately, death.
“We conducted a study on the epidemiologic burden of congestive heart failure in the Philippines, the first of its kind in the country. One of the key findings was that overall, eight percent of patients with CHF died during hospital admission in 2014. This is relatively higher than the mortality rates in other countries in Asia-Pacific,” said Dr. Bernadette Tumanan-Mendoza, the study’s principal investigator, a consultant cardiologist at the Manila Doctors Hospital and faculty member of the department of clinical epidemiology, University of the Philippines Manila, College of Medicine.
To help enhance the quality of HF care in the country, Novartis Healthcare Philippines and the Philippine Heart Association have formed a partnership to provide PHA members with free online access to continuing medical education on HF management from two prestigious organizations, the European Society of Cardiology and the American College of Cardiology.
“Cardiovascular diseases such as HF are among the leading causes of death in the Philippines. The DOH lauds efforts to enhance the quality of HF care in the country and improve outcomes of Filipino patients with this debilitating disease,” Health Secretary Paulyn Jean Rosell-Ubial said.
“Novartis is committed to addressing unmet medical needs and improving outcomes of patients with HF by supporting scientific exchange and innovative research. In line with this commitment, we are privileged to collaborate with the PHA in our discussions Active Learning and Live (ALL) About HF partnership,” said Cheryl Maley, president and managing director, Novartis Healthcare Philippines.
“CME is key to refining physician skills and enhancing overall patient care. ‘ALL About HF’ will update us with the latest developments in HF management and help us address real-world challenges that HF specialists and patients face today,” PHA president Dr. Jorge Sison said.