Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), or diseases of the heart and blood vessels, are responsible for a third of the deaths in the Philippines.
According to the Philippine Statistics Office (PSA), CVDs are part of the larger group of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), which account for 72 percent of deaths in the country in 2021.
Committed to bring essential primary care services closer to Filipino families for the prevention and management of NCDs, the Department of Health (DOH), through its Regional Cardiovascular Center Program, and the Philippine Heart Center (PHC), conducted its milestone 3rd Cardiovascular Mission.
It is a first of its kind, with simultaneous heart procedures: three open heart surgeries, pediatric interventions, and device closures were done at the Cotabato Regional Medical Center (CRMC) from January 14 to 20, 2024.
Corrective open-heart surgeries
SPECIALISTS of CRMC, PHC, Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC), and Amai Pakpak Medical Center joined hands to provide corrective open-heart surgeries to Filipino patients. This also marked the 42nd Heart Mission conducted in 16 Regional Heart Centers in 13 of 17 regions in the country since 2012.
The DOH aims to build more health infrastructure with equipment this 2024, as it aims to institutionalize regional heart centers in all regions of the country.
Currently, there are three regions with more than one established or developing heart center, namely, centers in Legazpi and Naga in the Bicol Region, centers in Iloilo and Bacolod in Western Visayas, and centers in Cagayan de Oro and Marawi in Northern Mindanao.
“The Philippine Heart Center places the ‘heart’ in healthcare. It has facilitated generous donations from philanthropic organizations and individuals. The DOH is always ready to support and assist the hospitals to be sustainable. We would like the Regional Heart Centers to be independent from PHC, towards the betterment of our service delivery to every Filipino,” said Health Secretary Teodoro J. Herbosa.