DOH: 4 provincial hospitals modernized, can now perform heart surgery

Filipinos based in the provinces who need heart surgery need not travel to Manila as four provincial hospitals have been modernized to be capable of performing heart surgeries, the Department of Health announced Tuesday.

 

DOH Secretary Enrique Ona said three of these hospitals are already operational, even as he encouraged Filipinos anew to practice a healthy lifestyle.

 

“A patient need not travel to Manila just to be operated on. We now have a number of DOH-retained hospitals which are capable to perform heart procedures with comparable expertise and precision, at much lower rates,” Ona said.

 

He added the government is determined to achieve Kalusugan Pangkalahatan (Health for All) through state-of-the-art technologies, health facility improvements and health promotion.

 

"This development will definitely decongest the Philippine Heart Center,” he added.

 

The DOH said the provincial hospitals that can now conduct open heart surgeries and transplants include:

 

 

Davao-based SPMC has done 1,158 catheterization procedures from 2007 to January 2014.

 

In 2013 alone, SPMC has done 215 CV-cathlab; 122 coronary angiograms; 21 coronary angioplasty procedures; 35 permanent pacemaker implantations; eight replacement of pulse generator; one internal cardioverter defibrillator; nine temporary pacemaker insertions; seven intra-aortic balloon pump insertions; 12 hemodynamic studies (pedia); and 31 radiologic procedures.

 

For its part, the NMMC performed five heart surgeries on March 22-23, 2013 with two cases of children with PDA (Patent Ductus Arteriosus); one atrialmyxoma and two VSD (Ventricular Septal Defect).

 

BRTTH in Southern Luzon has a record of numerous angiographic procedures including 30 in 2008; 39 in 2009; 76 in 2010; 76 in 2011; 100 in 2012 and 39 for the first quarter of 2013. Most cases handled involved coronary angiogram.

 

Healthy lifestyle

 

Meanwhile, the DOH reiterated its Pilipinas Go4Health campaign that encourages Filipinos to have healthy lifestyles by committing to have physical activity and proper nutrition, and avoid smoking and drinking.

 

Such practices can help control the prevalence of heart and cardiovascular diseases, it said.

 

The DOH said cardiovascular diseases remain the top cause of mortality in the Philippines. 

 

It said 120,000 Filipinos die each year from lifestyle-related diseases including cardiovascular, stroke, hypertension, kidney problems and diabetes. —KG, GMA News