BDH empowers Hypertension Busters in the community

June 1, 2019 Community Billboard

BACNOTAN, La Union – Bacnotan District Hospital (BDH) tapped Barangay Health Workers (BHWs) of the municipality of San Juan, La Union to combat hypertension in the community in line with National Hypertension Awareness Month on Monday, May 27 here.

Internal Medicine specialist Sherwin dela Cruz conducted a lecture to 72 BHWs under the leadership of BDH Chief of Hospital Zenserly Pagaduan.

San Juan is one of the catchment areas of BDH. Through their BHWs acting as information disseminators, individuals in their respective localities will also be familiar of the symptoms, risk factors, and the ways to prevent hypertension.

In his lecture, dela Cruz said high blood pressure is one of the leading causes of mortality in the global burden of disease study.

He also said that an elevated blood pressure affects more than one billion individuals and causes an estimated 9.4 million deaths per year worldwide.

Signs and symptoms of hypertension to watch out for were severe headache; fatigue or confusion; vision problems; chest pain; difficulty of breathing; irregular heartbeat; blood in the urine; and pounding in the chest, neck, or ears.

Dela Cruz also assured the audience that hypertension is preventable if these risk factors are avoided namely, high cholesterol levels; high sodium with low potassium intake; alcohol drinking; smoking; diabetes; obesity; physical inactivity; and an unhealthy diet.

He also taught the BHWs the key steps to measure Blood Pressure (BP) and the importance of preparing the patient first before taking a BP measurement.

He added that they should advice the patient to relax, sit on a chair with their feet on floor and back supported for more than five minutes; and make sure the patient avoids caffeine, exercise, and smoking for at least 30 minutes before the measurement.

Through empowering the front liners in the community, the health goal of Gov. Pacoy of a “Healthy La Union, Happy La Union by 2022” will be achieved.

Melanie Holt, GPC-BDH/ABN