OBJECTIVE: The prevalence of hypertension is 20% in the Philippines, and it increases year after year. It remains a risk factor for coronary heart disease, stroke, and heart and renal failure. The gravity of complications from hypertension also reflects the effectiveness of the awareness programs in the Philippines. The patient population of the Philippine General Hospital (PGH), being a tertiary referral center in the Philippines, has been represented by indigenous groups of Filipino people from the different provinces in the Philippines. In 1966, Dr. Baltazar conducted a study on the pattern of distribution of hypertension in PGH. It showed that essential hypertension was the leading cause of admission in PGH. This study aims to determine the prevalence and distribution of hypertensives admitted to PGH after for decades of improvement in the diagnosis and treatment of hypertension in the Philippines.

METHODS: Chart review of all hypertensive patients admitted at the charity wards or intensive care units in PGH in 2005 was performed. The year 2005 was selected due to the limitation of the Medical Records Section in retrieving charts before that year. Data from the Department of Pediatrics was excluded due to the insignificant number of hypertensives seen by the Department.

RESULTS: The information obtained from this study showed a decline in prevalence from 8.4% in 1966 to 4.1% in 2005 with a predominance of pregnancy-related hypertension in 1966 compared with primary hypertension in 2005.

CONCLUSION: This comparative study shows an expected decline in the prevalence of hypertension among admitted patients which can be attributed to heightened hypertension awareness, screening programs, and good quality of care.

Human ; Risk Factors ; Prevalence ; Hospitals, General ; Tertiary Care Centers ; Hypertension, Essential ; Hypertension ; Stroke ; Coronary Disease ; Renal Insufficiency

OBJECTIVE: To validate the Filipino version of the Berlin questionnaire (BQ) as a tool to screen for the risk of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in a primary care patients.

BACKGROUND: Most patients with OSA are unrecognized and untreated. The BQ is a tool that has been validated to screen for patients at risk for OSA and has been translated into and used in different languages.

METHOD: The forward and backward translation method was applied. The Filipino version was administered to 40 individuals able to read and understand both English and Filipino in different communities within the Metro Manila area followed 24 hours later with the English version. A focused group discussion and feedback were done after.

RESULTS: The BQ in Filipino showed good construct validity supported by the Cramer's coefficient ranging from 0.802 to 1 (p

CONCLUSIONS: The BQ in Filipino showed high construct validity. It can now be used as a research tool to conduct studies on risk assessment and disease correlation with OSA in the local community. It may likewise be used as a screening tool especially in areas with limited resources in order to identify patients who may need further workup for OSA.

Human ; Male ; Female ; Adult ; Young Adult ; Berlin ; Translating ; Translations ; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive ; Risk Assessment ; Primary Health Care

BACKGROUND Hypertension is the most common risk factor for cardiovascular disease in the Philippines. Despite the availability of antihypertensive medications that are effective, safe, and tolerated by Filipino patients, the numbers of uncontrolled hypertensives are still increasing. Several factors play in the poor control of blood pressure, particularly resistant hypertension and hyperactive sympathetic nervous system. Renal denervation therapy is a novel device that has been shown to lower blood pressure in patients with resistant and difficult-to-treat hypertension and is deemed safe in clinical trials. A Philippine Working Group composed of specialists in cardiology, hypertension, vascular surgery, and clinical epidemiology has come up with consensus statements in identifying patients who will benefit from the procedure. Locally, there is a need to have hypertension centers treating uncontrolled and resistant hypertension and offer renal denervation therapy to appropriate Filipino patients.
Blood Pressure