Three die of stroke at Tondo Medical Center amid holiday season

Tondo Medical Center in Manila City has recorded three deaths due to stroke over the past nine days from December 21 to 30 this year, a hospital official said Tuesday.

In an interview with GMA Integrated News, Dr. Michael Rocco Calopez, chief resident of the hospital's Internal Medicine Department, said the facility has admitted 35 stroke patients during the holiday season—an average of three cases per day, marking an uptick compared to previous months.

Some of the patients, he said, died shortly after arriving at the emergency room.

A major factor the hospital identified among the cases is the non-compliance with maintenance medications, as some patients chose to spend on food for holiday celebrations instead.

"Imbes na ipambili ng gamot eh pinambibili pa ng panghanda o nakakalimutang uminom ng gamot. Uunahin 'yung pagkain ng mga bawal, sasabihin minsan lang naman. Kung alam niyong at risk na ma-stroke, o high blood, diabetes, iwasan lagi ang mga bawal," Calopez said.

Diet, lifestyle

One of the stroke patients admitted to Tondo Medical Center is Angelito Oraa, who has been confined for three days. 

He is experiencing difficulty speaking, slurred speech, and partial paralysis on one side of his body.

His wife, Jennifer, said her husband's condition may have been triggered by frequent smoking and eating oily, fatty food, similar to what they had during Noche Buena.

"'Yung ham 'yung parang may taba, bacon 'yung gan'un, mga gan'un kasi mamantika nga. 'Pag sa cholesterol. Mahilig siya sa ganon. 'Di niya maiwasan 'yung sigarilyo," Jennifer said.

(The ham has fat. Bacon and similar foods are oily. He likes foods high in cholesterol. He could not stay away from smoking.)

Jennifer added that Oraa suffered a stroke in 2023, but this is the first time his speech has been severely affected, making it difficult to understand him.

After three days in the hospital, Oraa has started to recover and can now partially move the left side of his body, though his slurred speech persists. 

Stay on guard

Calopez advised the public to watch out for early warning signs of stroke, including slurred speech, weakness or paralysis, blurry vision, and high blood pressure.

He stressed that stroke patients should be rushed to the hospital within four hours for a CT scan and proper evaluation to improve their chances of survival.

"Lagi po ninyong babantayan 'yung mga may napansin na nabubulol na kamag-anak o biglang may parte ng katawan na hindi nagagalaw o nanghihina. Mayroon din ibang pasyente na sobrang taas ng blood pressure o biglang nanlalabo ang paningin. Itakbo agad sila sa ospital kasi po sa loob ng 4 hours dapat na-e-evaluate sila kaagad kung anong klaseng stroke sila. Kapag naagapan, puwede po natin sila masalba," Calopez said.

(Keep an eye out for your relatives who start to have slurred speech, become unable to move parts of their body, or feel weak. There are those who have very high blood pressure or suddenly experience blurred vision. Rush them to the hospital right away because they have to be evaluated within 4 hours to determine what stroke they had. If we act proactively, their lives can be saved.)

Holiday illnesses

Meanwhile, data from the Department of Health (DOH) showed that 165 cases of acute stroke were recorded nationwide from December 21 to 30. These are aside from 70 cases of heart attack, and 27 cases of bronchial asthma.

One of the asthma patients is 65-year-old Emmadelyn Sevilla from Malabon, who is currently admitted at Tondo Medical Center and requires daily nebulization.

She was admitted on Saturday after experiencing difficulty breathing following a meal that included cooked squid.

"Nagsikip 'yung dibdib ko. Nahirapan akong huminga kasi may hika ako. Na-trigger siguro nung kumain ako ng... kasi pusit 'yung ulam namin."

(I felt my chest tighten. I had difficulty breathing because I have asthma. It was probably triggered when I ate... squid as a viand during our meal.)

Asked if she was exposed to smoke, Sevilla said, "Siguro nakaka-ano lang ako ng nagve-vape, nagsisigarilyo. Ayun nakakasagap lang ako."

(Perhaps I inhaled some smoke from vape or cigarettes.)

Health Secretary Ted Herbosa also warned the public about smoke from fireworks, which can trigger respiratory problems, especially during the holiday season.

"Lahat affected sa dami ng usok pagdating ng fireworks display. So very important, [let us observe areas for] community fireworks display that is safer kasi malayo," Herbosa said.

(Everybody is affected by the volume of smoke during fireworks displays. So it's very important [that we observe areas for] community fireworks display [because] that is safer because they are farther.) — VDV, GMA Integrated News