By Perla Lena/PNA
ILOILO CITY — The Department of Health (DOH) is hoping to reach out to more than 600,000 individuals with hypertension and more than 300,000 with diabetes in Western Visayas for them to be given proper intervention.
DOH Senior Health Program Officer John Richard Lapascua, in a press conference on Tuesday, said that as of February this year, they have only recorded 140, 820 hypertensive clients and 28, 307 diabetic clients.
“There is a big disparity in number,” he said.
The target he said is supposed to be 20 percent of the 20 years-old and above of the around 7.9 million population of the region for hypertensive and eight percent of the similar age group for diabetes.
He said granting the age 20 and above is 3.9 million then those at risk for hypertension will be around 800,000 and some 300,000 for diabetes.
One strategy employed by the DOH is the Philippine Package of Essential NCD Interventions with free testing and screening, blood pressure-reading and monitoring are made available in health centers for hypertensive.
For diabetes, they are hoping to provide tools such as glucose meter and glucose strips. “There have to be tests to be conducted to determine whether or not they are hypertensive or diabetic,” he added.
The call is very timely as the country celebrates the heart month this February where DOH is calling on the public to take extra care of their heart.
This year’s celebration anchors on the theme “Mahalin ang Pusong Nagmamahal,” will focus more on the disease of the heart.
DOH data showed that hypertensive cardiovascular diseases (HCVD) are the top causes of mortality in Western Vsayas with a rate of 135.82 percent per 100,000 population. In 2017, DOH recorded 10, 485 deaths due to HCVD.
Hypertension is also ranked third in terms of morbidity with a rate of 483.09 percent for every 100,000 individuals.
Nonetheless, Lapascua said that there is really no specific food being prohibited for people suffering from these diseases, yet the keyword is “moderation”.
“The key word is moderation regardless of the kind of food that they eat and maintain maintenance medication,” he said.
He also warned that lifestyle and genetics play important roles in the development of lifestyle-related diseases.
These diseases are irreversible and require lifetime maintenance drugs.
