The month of May is National Hypertension Awareness Month. This year, the Department of Health Bicol Center for Health Development (DOH Bicol CHD) highlights the importance of adopting a healthy lifestyle in the prevention of hypertension among Bicolanos. It underscores the importance of regular blood pressure (BP) measurement in the detection and monitoring of the medical condition, which often do not have any symptoms.
Hypertension or high blood pressure occurs when the blood pressure, or the force exerted by circulating blood against the walls of the body’s arteries, is high. Its complications include damage to the heart, stroke, blindness, kidney failure, and even death. According to the DOH, hypertension is diagnosed if, when measured on two different days, both BP readings are above 140/90 mmHg.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), risk factors of hypertension include unhealthy diets characterized by excessive salt consumption, consumption of fatty foods, and low intake of fruits and vegetables. Lack of physical exercise, alcohol and tobacco consumption, and being overweight are also risk factors.
In the May 3, 2022 episode of DZGB Legazpi radio program Chikahang Pangkalusugan, DOH Bicol CHD Lifestyle Related Diseases Program Coordinator Yolanda Almonguera said that like other medical conditions, hypertension can be avoided by having a healthy lifestyle. “Exercise regularly, eat nutritious food and avoid fatty and salty ones, maintain a healthy weight, and refrain from smoking and drinking alcohol. It is also important to learn how to manage stress,” she said in Filipino.
Almonguera also said that early detection and management of hypertension is important in controlling the medical condition. Hypertension, dubbed by the WHO as a “silent killer,” often do not have signs and symptoms except for severe cases, making the regular measurement of blood pressure the only way to identify the condition.
The DOH Bicol CHD encourages Bicolanos to avail of the Philippine Package of Essential Non-Communicable Diseases Interventions (PhilPEN) program. The program, which is being implemented year-round in partnership with local government units and other health partners, helps assess individuals’ risk for hypertension through regular assessment and screening. Counseling and free medicines are given to patients based on results.
Let us defuse the hypertension threat through healthy lifestyle choices and regular blood pressure measurement, mga ka-HEARTNER!
Source: Press Release DOH Bicol CHD
