DOH and PSH officers present the signed memorandum of agreement for the CV risk assessment and management program.
PSH, DOH Ink Partnership for CV Risk Assessment and Management Program
The World Health Organization states that each year, 17.9 million people die because of cardiovascular diseases (CVD), and this comprises more than a third of all deaths in the world.(1) Of these deaths due to CVD, 85% is due to a heart or a brain attack. In the Philippines, four of its top causes of death in 2016 are CVD and its complications,(2) and are also responsible for more than one-third of all deaths in the country. There is, therefore, the need to address this problem by determining behaviors that can lead or aggravate this condition and creating ways to lower the incidence if not totally prevent them from occurring.
Last 19 November 2018, the Philippine Society of Hypertension (PSH) and the Department of Health (DOH) signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to launch the Cardiovascular Risk Assessment and Management program at the Novotel Manila Araneta Center. This program aims to support and facilitate the summit for the Philippine Package for Essential Non-Communicable Disease Interventions (PhilPEN); update the training materials for physicians, nurses and barangay health workers; support and train private practitioners; and discuss the cardiovascular assessment program status and development.
“This program (will set up) standard rules and regulations, and (we) hope that it will become a national policy for the benefit of the people that we serve,” DOH CALABARZON Regional Director Dr Eduardo C. Janairo stated. “There are certain risk factors that precede deaths caused by hypertension, high blood and even chest pain; hence, there is an opportunity for early intervention. These indicators will be used to control CV prevalence in the country at the soonest possible time.”
Dr. Atilano presents the goals, objectives and timeline of the program.
“Let us give (the Filipino people) justice because they need and expect better service from us.”
DOH CALABARZON Regional Director Dr. Eduardo C. Janairo
Dr. Janairo discusses the DOH’s objectives and the importance of cardiovascular diseases risk assessment.
The program involves all accredited rural health units, health centers and medical providers (both government and private practitioners), but the focus of the pilot run shall be in Region IV-A, which is comprised of the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon (CALABARZON). CALABARZON is the second most densely populated area in the country, next to the National Capital Region, with a population of over 14 million.
CVD is among the prime targets of the DOH, and PSH aims to promote and encourage the advancement of scientific research and knowledge, and to apply these to the prevention and management of heart disease and stroke in hypertension and its complications in the country.
Reference:
1. World Health Organization. World Heart Day. World Health Organization resource page. Available at:
https://www.who.int/cardiovascular_diseases/world-heart-day/en/. Accessed 4 December 2018.
2. Bersales LG. Deaths in the Philippines, 2016. Philippine Statistics Authority resource page. Available at:
https://psa.gov.ph/content/deaths-philippines-2016. Accessed 4 December 2018.
