Wellness
Campaign pushes for home blood pressure monitoring
he ongoing global health crisis has affected millions of people the world over, and hypertension remains the biggest contributing risk factor to global death. More alarmingly, high blood pressure (BP) is the number one preventable cause of premature deaths in the Philippines.
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Deaths related to hypertension in the Philippines reached 14,488 or 2.38 percent of total deaths, according to 2018 WHO data. Hypertension-related diabetes is among the leading causes of mortality in the country, and hypertension will likely continue to be a great health risk factor as its prevalence rate is expected to increase from 26% to 29% of the world’s population by 2025. This is further compounded by the fact that hypertension is among the common comorbidities for COVID-19 severe illness. Despite these alarming figures, awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension in the country remain relatively low. To help address these, the Philippine Society of Hypertension (PSH) is continuing its annual May Measurement Month (MMM) campaign this 2021 with a new implementation approach. Having been deferred in 2020 in consideration of the prevailing COVID-19 situation across the globe, the MMM this year has been reimagined to be relevant to the present status of the healthcare industry. PSH partnered with the local government of Manila, the healthcare business of OMRON, and other organizations to ensure the campaign’s success amid the pandemic.
June 2021
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