Twitter: @edd1819, Instagram: @bluestar0910, Facebook: SDN — Science, Digital & Current Affairs
By EDD K. USMAN
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(SDN) — Go and get yourself vaccinated!
Doctors of the heart of the Philippine Hearth Association (PHA), men and women with kind hearts all, issued this call as coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases continued to rise in the Philippines..
Dr. Jorge Sison, father, professor, College of Medicine, Manila Central University (MCU), and leader of Presyon 1-4 Study, and his colleagues at PHA emphasized those with heart ailments have nothing to worry about with vaccines to fight the global pandemic.
He said pharmaceutical companies included heart ailment patients in the vaccine trials and they did not fine any adverse effect.
The PHA conducted last month on June 30 its series of virtual “PHA Usapang Puso sa Puso Forum” titled “Puso ni Daddy, Sinlakas Pa Ba ng Haligi?”, a Father’s Day Special, which was timed during June, the Men’s Heart Month, with Corbridge Group. (PHA Heart to Heart Forum: Daddy’s Heart, Still as Strong as a Post?”)
Sison, heart and hypertension specialist, was one of the panelists in the forum which also tapped actor, politician and father Richard Gomez, the mayor of Ormoc City, Leyte, Eastern Visayas, and actor/entertainer Robin “Abdul Aziz” Padilla, among others.
“Included in the trials are those with heart ailment; there was no effect to the heart. We are urging everyone to get vaccinated, especially those with hypertension,” the medical specialist and Professor Sison, a former PHA president, emphasized.
Related to this, the Philippine government has already either procured, bought, or received donations of various vaccine brands from China, the COVAX Facility of the World Health Organization (WHO).
Now being used in the country are, in no order of importance, are vaccines such as Sinovac, Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Moderna, and Sputnik V.
As of July 5, 2021, the Department of Health (DOH) has registered 5,392 cases of infections, bringing the national total to 1,441,746; 43 fatalities that increased the dead to 25,192; and 51,594 active cases in all.
Meanwhile, the number of recovered Covid-19 patients with the addition of 6,477 is now at 1,364,960.
Sison expressed alarm at the results of Presyon 4 study on Filipinos.
“The data that we saw in Presyon 4 is startling because 4 out of 10 Filipinos have hypertension. It’s really increasing and increasing.
“In Presyon 4 those in ages 12-18 years old, 5 percent of them have hypertension. Before, in Presyon 3 it was only 1 percent,” he pointed out.
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“Don’t wait for your symptoms to emerge. Have your blood pressure checked — it’s very simple. It can be done in clinic or (health) center.”
— Dr. Jorge Sison
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He said if you have a maintenance medicine, don’t stop taking it and have a regular check up — monthly, quarterly, etc.
“Don’t wait for your symptoms to emerge. Have your blood pressure checked — it’s very simple. It can be done in clinic or center.”
Gomez’s cardiologist, one of the speakers at the forum, Dr. Rhodette Arevalo, said “it’s not yet too late to give attention to our heart — whether male or female. We have to live healthy lifestyles…your survival will be longer.”
Arevalo reiterated her colleagues’ emphasis to go and consult with a doctor for guidance on what to be done. It is important for those with hypertension and diabetes to control it so it won’t get worse.
“Communicate with your doctors soon so they can explain what medicine is suited for you. more importantly, stay positive. Hypertension and diabetes it’s there already and can’t get rid of. But we can still control and prevent it for those who has no heart disease yet,” she assured.
One of the questions asked in the forum concerned doing exercise, especially for sedentary elder people who generally are not doing any form of formal exercise.
Dr. Benjamin Quito, father, cardiologist father, cardiologist cardiac rehabilitation and hypertension specialist, noted that the pandemic has keep people at home for long periods.
“I know we are stuck at home because of the restriction, but it does not mean we have to stop doing exercises we’ve been doing before. We just have to be creative, we can’t do basketball like before. Consistency is important,” he said.
Quito said, of course, before exercising one has to determine if he or she has hypertension or diabetes because it is not appropriate to just get into competitive sports. “Consultation with doctors is very important before engaging in sports.”
Seafarers and call center agents high risk for hypertension
Sison revealed as well that that “by statistics there are more men smoking…by statistics there are more hypertensive among men. 52 percent, or more than half of those with high blood in the Philippines are men.”
He said heart disease can be prevented through activities that can be modified, such as smoking, weight loss, eating healthy foods, moderation in alcohol drinking.
Sison also revealed another peculiarity in the Philippine population as it has two types of high risk population in terms of developing high blood pressure.
These are seafarers and call center agents. “We saw in practice they are still very young they are have ailments. There are 24 years old call center agents who had a stroke. And among seafarers, around 40 years old they already had a by-pass operation. So, this is good for a study.”
On devices for checking blood pressure, Sison pointed out that it is better to use a device for checking blood pressure in the arm than in the wrist. He said this because there are many factors in the wrist that could affect the result.
Watch out for triggers of high blood pressure
If one has to use a digital device, Sison said this should be done three times on two minutes intervals and then get the average of the three results.
On the other hand, he seemed to indicate that digital ones should be use if there is none other in the house like what medical practitioners are using.
Quito said those with hypertension must watch out for the triggers, such as diet with more salt, fat diet, and sudden onset of emotions because they could trigger shooting up of blood pressure that may result in stroke.
Quito also said to beware for those with fat belly because it could get them more easily infected with Covid-19 because the coronavirus pathogen (SARS-CoV-2) more easily get into the muscles muscles of the belly.
Sison aired caution for people to pay attention to the medicines their doctor prescribed.
“They are not forever. We advice you to have a check up, every month or every quarter. We adjust (your medicines) based on your blood pressure level,” the former PHA president said.
Dr. Luigi Pierre Segundo, head, Electrohysiology Center, The Medical City; Dr. Don Robespierre Reyes, chair, Advocacy Committee, Chair, PHA Council on CPR Professor, and Gynna Gagelonia, PHA Media Unit, host and moderated the virtul event. (/)