March is National Women’s Heart Health month
IN observance of National Women’s Heart Health Month this year, the Philippine Heart Association, Inc. (PHA) Council on Women’s Heart Health has once again intensified its awareness campaign for women’s cardiovascular well-being to provide women with tools for them to take appropriate action in the prevention of Cardiovascular Disease (CVD).
The celebration of National Women’s Heart Health Month is pursuant to Presidential Proclamation No. 1675 issued on November 20, 2008. The proclamation was in response to the high incidence of CVD, which in 2008 was “the number one killer of women in the Philippines, claiming more women’s lives than all forms of cancer combined.”
The PHA Council on Women’s Cardiovascular Health (CWCH) advocacy outlined in “Assessment and Management of Cardiovascular Risks in Wom- en” includes: creating awareness among women at all levels through mass media that CVD is the number 1 killer of Filipino women; educating women through forums, seminars, and workshops; encouraging Filipino women to engage in healthy lifestyle, consult their doctors and take their medicines; breaking down the cultural barrier that makes women’s hearts health less priority than that of men; enrolling as many advocates from among the lay, non-health professionals and government; and training physicians to educate women to close the gap between perception and the reality of CVD. The council strongly promotes lifestyle changes that include: permanently stopping smoking all forms of tobacco; adopting a healthy, and a well-balanced diet; engaging in regular physical exercise; proper weight management; managing high blood lipid levels; and managing high blood pressure.
The alarming rise in death rate attributed to CVD has prompted the PHA to release an updated set of guidelines on treating and managing heart disease in the book, “2014 Philippine Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Coronary Heart Disease.” The book is written by experts in the field; with some entries borrowed from the world’s most respected organizations such as the American College of Cardiology and the European Society of Cardiology.
On the occasion of National Women’s Heart Health Month, we urge all Filipino women to take special care of their hearts to minimize, if not eliminate, the risks of cardiovascular disease. Women have the important and unique role of carrying life. The heart of a woman, beyond its physiologic function, transmits life, and has the natural tendency to care for and nurture humanity.