You can avoid dying from hypertension

BY HENRYLITO D. TACIO

es and falls throughout the day. It is measured using two numbers. The first number, called systolic BP, measures the pressure in your arteries when your heart beats. The second number, called diastolic BP, measures the pressure in your arteries when your heart rests between beats.

During his lecture, Dr. Elino said a BP reading of 120/80 mm Hg (millimeters of mercury) is within the normal range. “If your results fall into this category, stick with your heart-healthy habits,” advised the doctor who studies master in public management-health governance at Ateneo de Manila University.

But if the BP reading is 120129/80 mm Hg, then it is considered an elevated blood pressure, according to the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association (ACC/AHA). If a person has a BP reading of 130-139/80-89 mm Hg, then he has hypertension stage 1.

“Hypertension is blood pressure that is higher than normal,” explained the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“Having blood pressure measures consis- tently above normal may result in a diagnosis of high blood pressure or hypertension.”

In the Philippine setting, the Philippine Clinical Practice Guidelines (Phil CPG) considers the above categories as borderline yet.

Hypertension stage 2, as per ACC/AHA, happens when the BP readings consistently range from 140-159/90-99 mm Hg or more than 160 over more than 100 mm Hg (>160/>100). Both of these categories are classified by Phil CPG as hypertension or alta presyon.

A BP reading that is more than 180 over more than 120 mm Hg (>180/>120) is classified as hypertensive crisis. Here, the person experiences chest pain, shortness of breath, back pain, numbness/weakness, and change in vision or difficulty speaking.

When that happens, it’s already a medical emergency.

BAR... FROM 2 YOU CAN... FROM 9 DMW... FROM 3 32 COUNTRIES

he said.

Magno also said that monetary incentives given by RMC are one of the school’s avenues in recognizing the efforts of the students who hurdled the Bar exam.

“For the last batch of our passers, we gave P100,000 each. These monetary incentives are RMC’s way to express our happiness that they passed the Bar exam, as they also bring honor to the school,” he said.

Batacan also noted that the RMC School of Law has the cheapest tuition fee among the law schools in Davao City.

“We are the cheapest but we are not sacrificing the quality of our education. We have professors who teach in the Manila schools and even internationally,” he said.

The RMC Law School has paved its way to the law school community starting with only seven students when it was reinstated back in 2017 and now they have more than a hundred students.

Meanwhile, Mabborang is thankful to the RMC administration for providing everything they need during the exam from the food to the transportation.

Mabborang had just given birth when she took the Bar exam in November 2022. She is thankful to her family and RMC for helping her survived the examination.

“It was a big help for me during the exam. When I took the Bar in the morning, I brought my baby with me so that I can still breastfeed. Then the caregiver would take my baby so that I can continue my exam and after the exam, the caregiver would give back my baby to me. That’s how helpful and supportive RMC is to the Bar examinees,” she said.

Mabborang said she decided to take up law when her father, a police officer, died in the line of duty in an ambush incident in 2010 in Marilog District.

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scale hog raisers.)

With President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. as concurrent Agriculture secretary, Tan expects the agency would provide funds for the ASF vaccine.

The Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) on Friday said the ASF vaccine was proven effective in clinical trials in six farms in Luzon.

In 2019, the ASF outbreak was first reported in the country. Thousands of pigs were slaughtered to prevent the disease from spreading. The disease has also reduced the swine inventory in the country.

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Bank-Board of Liquidators in Pasay City (PHP1.9 million), and two Technology Resource Center in Visayas (PHP50.4 million and PHP50.2 million).

Diokno said within the first six months of the Marcos administration, the Privatization Council approved the final sale of PHP800 million worth of assets.

In contrast, the total sales collected from the previous administration from 2019 to 2021 amounted to PHP664 million.

Broken down, the government sold PHP594.7 million worth of assets in 2019; PHP54.9 million in 2020; and PHP14.06 million in 2021.

... FROM 2 law, we also provide information to their spouses and authorized representatives,” she said. She added that DMW 11 is currently collating the number of seafarers and manning agencies in the Davao Region.

from Maldives, Mongolia, Portugal and other European countries. This year’s theme is “Building World Peace through Organic Agriculture: Food security vital to peace building.”

The mayor said Matheo John, President of International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movement and (IFOAM Asia ) is also coming.

Arnado said about 70 per cent of the delegates will be billeted in Iligan City, 20 kilometers away.

He said security measures are being attended to by the police, military, coast guard and other government agencies.

Mayor Arnado and his wife Sonia, Vice Mayor Maximo Arnado Jr., and other officials led the ribbon-cutting rites at the entrance of the Kauswagan International Organic Convention Center (KIOCC) followed by a mass at the Camp Shell on Saturday morning.

An Organic Youth Forum Special session on Organic Leadership Transcending Generations was on Sunday, while the AgriAqua Fair opened at 2 p.m.

Delegates will not only attend sessions but visit organic farming sites as well. (Richel V. Umel / MindaNews)

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ny, Walter Calibara, President of Camansi Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Association, expressed his gratitude to the DAR and DTI and acknowledged the positive impact of the initiative.

“We are thankful for this opportunity to be linked to a bigger market. It would really benefit us farmers because we are assured of a good price and we can minimize the transportation expenses since our products will be picked up in our area,” he said.

Calibara added that they are looking forward to more opportunities that the partnership would bring to the farmers.

LTA Foods Manufacturing Quality Assurance Manager Wilfred Abenza said that they are not only committed to helping the farmers buy their produce at a competitive price, but they will also provide technical assistance to improve the quality of their produce.

“Through this partnership, we also intend to optimize and enhance the quality of cardava bananas by educating them to improve their yield,” Abenza said.

The signing of the marketing partnership agreement was attended by the top officials and employees of DAR and DTI in the Soccsksargen region.

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nando, La Union CLS.

This June, DICT is staging various activities to celebrate National ICT Month, the closing of which would be symbolically held in Sacol Island in Zamboanga City, a recipient of its free internet service program.

“Doon po magtatapos iyong ating (Our) National ICT Month sa (will end in) Sacol Island and I’m proud to announce that Sacol Island has been named by the International Telecommunications Union as a potential location to be a smart village of the world,” Sigue said.

Sacol Island has a population of about 12,000. (PNA) tion, stress reduction, limit alcohol intake, tobacco cessation, and DASH (dietary approach to stop hypertension). munities, and schools in the Bangsamoro,” she added.

“Don’t wait for the blood pressure to come down. Bring the patient immediately to a nearby hospital,” urged Dr. Elino, who is also a former internal medicine physician at the Southern Philippines Medical Center in Davao City.

Duterte also vowed that the Office of the Vice President and DepEd will be working hard in bringing more peace-building efforts to conflict-affected communities.

“By joining forces, we continue to propel our country towards sustainable, equitable, and inclusive progress,” she said. (PNA)

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FROM 3 complete the said project from the Department of Transportation’s (DoTr) budget.

Last month, Mendoza and Santos presented the appeal to Transportation Secretary Jaime J. Bautista.

Based on data from the Office of Provincial Planning and Development, the P485-million cost estimate will cover the first phase of the airport, which includes the improvement of airside facilities such as the runway, passenger terminal building, administration building, water, and power supply systems, and concreting of the vehicular parking area and access road.

The CMA is targeted for operation by 2025 and is positioned to ease passenger and cargo access to and from the largely agricultural province.

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P50 billion from the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP)

P25 billion from the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP)

P50 billion from the National Government

The contribution from the national government would come from the following sources:

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ total declared dividends

National government’s share of the income of PAGCOR Properties, real and personal identified by the DOF-Privatization and Management Office

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F55).

The Philippines is ranked fifth with 11 gold, 17 silver and 15 bronze medals, as of press time.

Meanwhile, three powerlifters were scheduled to compete later in the day at the National Paralympic Committee of Cambodia (NPCC) Hall.

Denesia Esnara, who won two bronze medals in the women’s 50kg last year, will see action in the 55kg category. Others competing are Gregorio Payat (men’s 59kg) and Cherrylyn Sugue (women’s 67kg).

The powerlifting team had already won four medals, including a gold and a silver from Marydol Pama-tian in the women’s 41kg category, on Sunday. The other two silvers came from Paralympian Achelle Guion in the women’s 45kg category.

Indonesia leads the medal tally board with 39 golds, 33 silvers and 27 bronzes followed by Vietnam (26-21-29), Thailand (22-27-19) and Malaysia (19-13-7).

A person knows only if he or she has hypertension if the BP reading is accurate. Dr. Elino suggested that before the measurement is started, the patient must be placed in a quiet room. “No talking by patient or observer,” he said, adding that patients should have not smoked, drank coffee, tea or cola, and done exercise 30 minutes before the measurement. He must also empty his bladder.

Pundits say the way you sit and the way you hold your arm can affect your measurement. Your blood pressure is different when you’re standing versus lying down. The correct position is seated in a chair with your back flat and your feet flat on the floor, Dr. Elino said.

The left arm is the best to take your blood pressure if you are right-handed. Rest in a chair next to a table for 5 to 10 minutes. The left arm should rest comfortably at heart level; it should not be hanging in the air.

A blood pressure reading is taken with a pressure cuff. “Use the correct cuff size, such that the bladder encircles 80% of the arm,” Dr. Elino said, adding that the cuff should fit right. If it’s too loose, you could get false low blood pressure readings; if it is too tight, your reading might be inaccurately higher.

Validated electronic devices may be used for BP measurement. But for auscultatory readings, he suggested either the stethoscope diaphragm or bell. “Use a palpated radial pulse obliteration pressure to estimate systolic blood pressure, then inflate the cuff 20-30 mm Hg above this level for auscultatory determination of BP level,” Dr. Elino instructed. “Deflate the cuff pressure 2 mm Hg per second, and listen for Korotkoff sounds.”

Korotkoff sounds – named after Nikolai Korotkov, a Russian physician who discovered them in 1905 – vary in quality from tapping, swooshing, muffled sounds, and silence. The pressure at which the first Korotkoff sound is noted signifies the systolic pressure, while the pressure at which the Korotkoff sounds are no longer heard marks the diastolic pressure.

According to Dr. Elino, the health worker taking the measurement should record BP in both arms during the first visit. “Use the arm that gives the higher reading for subsequent readings,” he said. “Separate repeated measurements by one to two minutes. Use an average of more than two readings obtained on more than two occasions.”

During his lecture, Dr. Elino also identified the risk factors for hypertension. These are: dietary salt intake, lack of physical activity, weight gain and obesity, smoking and alcohol consumption, and acculturation and chronic stress.

Other risk factors include dyslipidemia (imbalance of lipids) and diabetes, sleep-disordered breathing, family history of hypertension, old age, and ethnicity.

Right now, there is still no cure for high blood pressure. However, it is important for those with hypertension to take steps that matter, such as making effective lifestyle changes, Dr. Elino said.

He suggested seven evidence-based points: weight loss, physical activity, sodium restric-

Weight loss: Maintain a normal body mass index (BMI) of 18.5 to 24.9 kg/m2 (kg is a person’s weight in kilograms and m2 is their height in meters squared).

If a person loses 10 kilograms, his BP goes down by 5-20 mm Hg.

Physical activity: Engage in regular physical activity (example: brisk walking) more than 30 minutes per day on most days. Doing so will lower his BP by 4-9 mm Hg.

Sodium restriction: Reduce dietary sodium intake to maximum 100 mmol per day. That’s about 2.4 grams of sodium or 6 grams of salt. The BP goes down by 2-8 mm Hg.

Stress reduction: Practice a stress-reduction modality such as meditation. BP reduction: 5 mm Hg.

Limit alcohol intake: Restrict daily consumption of alcoholic drinks to a maximum of one drink for women and two drinks for men. BP reduction: 2-4 mm Hg.

Tobacco cessation: Incorporate cessation modality of choice. BP reduction: 2-4 (after one week of cessation).

DASH eating plan: Eat a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and lowfat (reduced saturated and total fat) dairy products. BP reduction: 8-14 mm Hg.

Fortunately, there is a wide range of drugs that can lower blood pressure. “The aim is to find the particular drug or combination of drugs that will lower your blood pressure to a safe level and prevent problems,” writes Dr. Robert Buckman, author of What You Really Need to Know About High Blood Pressure. “The doctor will tailor treatment to you as an individual, so do not be surprised if you find that you are taking completely different drugs from someone else with the same condition.”

There are different categories of drugs used to bring high blood pressure within a normal range and they work in three different ways. The first ones are called diuretics and they reduce the amount of fluid in the body by increasing urine flow. Reducing body fluid means that there is less for the heart to pump around the body.

Beta-blockers, on the other hand, reduce the heart’s workload by preventing the stimulating effects of stress, slowing the heartbeat, and reducing its force. This makes it easier for the heart to pump blood around the body.

Other drugs act on the widening and narrowing of the blood vessels. These group includes ACE inhibitors, which block the formation of the hormone angiotensin that causes the blood vessels to narrow; angiotensin II inhibitors, which block the effect of angiotensin; calcium channel blockers, which relax the blood vessels; and alpha-blockers, which also relax the blood vessels.

If you are 60 or older, medical experts recommend that you start drug treatment if the systolic blood pressure is 130 or higher. Once you start taking medications, don’t stop taking the prescribed drugs.

As Dr. Ramon Abarquez Jr., founding president of Philippine Society of Hypertension, puts it: “Once established, hypertension is for life. Compliance to prescribed medication and clinic follow-ups are mandatory to prevent target organ damage.”