The bad news: Heart disease is the number one killer in the country. The good news: It can be prevented through early diagnosis, and healthy diet and lifestyle.
That’s what volunteer cardiologists from the Cardinal Santos Medical Center (CSMC) shared to 98 waiting patients at the Tzu Chi Eye Center when they gave a free lecture on heart care on 15 February.
The “Heart to Heart: A Free Seminar on Chest Pain and Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm” saw three doctors from the CSMC’s Cardiovascular Institute — Drs. Michael Anthony dela Cruz, John Andrew Yam and Florence Carvajal — lecture about chest pain, abdominal aortic aneurysm, and causes, prevention and treatment for cardiovascular diseases, in time for the observance of Philippine Heart Month, an annual national effort to raise awareness about cardiovascular health and disease prevention.
The Cardinal Medical Charities Foundation co-organized the forum at the TCEC’s convention hall in Sta. Mesa, Manila.
The lecturers brought in their hospital’s ultrasound machine and provided free abdominal aortic aneurysm screening for participants. They also offered free consultations to 79 participants.
Dr. Antonio Say, president of Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation Philippines, which operates the eye center, said he encountered people in their 30s and 40s who already had a stroke or heart attack.
“We think that our obligation is not only to treat the patients’ eyes but also to protect them from the consequences of preventable diseases,” Say said.
Chinese-Filipino civic leader Teresita Ang See, who attended the cardio seminar, welcomed the free lecture and said she hoped to see more such forums from Tzu Chi and CSMC.
“If you take care of your heart, not just physically but also spiritually, then you can go further and do more service,” she said.
Say announced that lectures on other health conditions, including Parkinsonism, epilepsy and gastroenterology, will become a monthly effort of Tzu Chi and CSMC at the center.
“This is a great opportunity for us to work together — a Catholic institution like Cardinal Santos Medical Center and Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, which is a Buddhist Foundation, working together, hand-in-hand in helping our community to have a healthy community and healthy individual for the growth of our country,” he said.