CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (PIA) -- The Northern Mindanao Medical Center (NMMC), under the Department of Health Center for Health Development Northern Mindanao (DOH-CHDNM), has become an advanced center for the diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases as well as surgical cases or surgery of cardiovascular diseases.

Dr. Bernard Julius Rocha, heart surgeon and Cardiovascular Care Center head, NMMC, shared in Talakayan sa PIA Konsultayo Series that the NMMC will inaugurate a Cardiovascular Care Center to cater to patients who have heart diseases that need medication or surgery; however, he noted that although the center is established, the program for cardiovascular started way back in 2013.

“Kami mga doctor gikan man mi sa Philippine Heart Center, nag-training mi didto, pagbalik namo, nagsugod gyud atong program, gi-full blast nato ang cardiovascular care program. Ang nahitabo man ana, before, dili kaya sa NMMC, sauna kanang mag-opera sa mga naay sakit sa kasingkasing. Katong 2013, nakasugod mi ana, nakaopera ta by March," he said.

[We, the doctors, just arrived from the Philippine Heart Center; we did training there, and when we came back, that was when our program started. We went full blast with the cardiovascular care program. What happened was that, before, NMMC was not able to operate on those with heart disease. In 2013, we started that, and we were able to operate by March.]

The NMMC is now formally inaugurating its Cardiovascular Care Center after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed into law Republic Act No. 11959, or the Regional Specialty Centers Act, wherein the DOH shall establish specialty centers in DOH hospitals in every region of the country and government-owned and controlled corporation specialty hospitals.

“One is the Cardiovascular Care Center. There is no transplant yet in the Philippines, but the heart center is planning on that later on,” he clarified.

Daily, the NMMC waitlist for cardiovascular operations is over 100, not only with the coronary artery bypass but including valve and congenital diseases, the doctor shared.

"This is one of the more common illnesses we see at NMMC on a daily basis,” Rocha said.

Cardiovascular disease is one of the top 10 diseases worldwide and is still the number one cause of death among countries. There are two types of heart diseases: one is congenital, and the second is acquired.

Lifestyle, according to Rocha, is a big cause of developing cardiovascular diseases, and this includes five major risk factors, particularly hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, smoking, and stress.

“Dili nimo kinahanglan nga makuha ang lima, isa lang, naa nka sakit sa kanang mag bara gyud kanang coronary artery disease,” he explained.

[You do not need to get all five risk factors, only need one if you get a heart disease that is blocking the heart, such as coronary artery disease.]

Hence, the Department of Health has made a program to come up with a lot of specialty centers so that hopefully these cases go down.

“We can help more; hopefully, instead of just plain treatment, we can go to prevention,” the doctor shared.

In terms of financial assistance, Rocha said patients can apply for various government benefits, such as the PhilHealth Z-Benefit package, the DOH Medical Assistance to Indigent Patients (MAIP) Program, and the Malasakit Center. (JMOR/PIA-10)