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I received quite a number of feedback to last week’s column on what I believe is an effective “formula” to achieve our goals. I can testify that it has worked for me—in at least eight out of 10 goals.
Menopause in women usually ushers in a bothersome list of symptoms, such as hot flashes, chills, night sweats, sleep problems, osteoporosis, irritability, depression and mood changes, weight gain and slowed metabolism and sexual dysfunction.
On Thursday last week, the kickoff ceremonies for the nationwide blood pressure (BP) screening campaign was held at the Manila City Hall, with no less than Mayor Joseph “Erap” Estrada and Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial giving the marching orders for the coalition of doctors, nurses, health workers and advocates who have all volunteered to check the BPs of at least one million Filipinos, age 18 years and older, to identify those who have high BP but don’t even realize it.
When I got back to the clinic after a long absence a few weeks ago, a patient came for follow-up and proudly told me, “Doctor, I had fever and flu-like symptoms while you were abroad. I just took several capsules of an antibiotic and the fever was gone after a few days.”
Our column last week on male domestic abuse seemed to have stirred a hornet’s nest.
It’s a common misconception that engaging in sexual intimacy can trigger heart attack and, possibly, sudden cardiac arrest. Local anecdotes are frequently cited about how a popular mayor in the 1960s died in that situation.
Heart specialists in the world had another great scientific smorgasbord last week in Munich, Germany, at the annual congress of the European Society of Cardiology. It’s the most attended medical congress, with more than 35,000 specialists, scientists and medical practitioners from all over the world.
A few days after the new year, a middle-aged patient came back to our clinic for follow-up, around six months after her last. Based on her chart, her weight increased from 55 to 66 kg. Her body mass index (BMI), a measure to determine if one is overweight or not, increased from 24.8 to 28.9, a jump from just being marginally overweight to significantly overweight, bordering on obesity.
Recently I had the privilege to chair a session at the annual convention of the Philippine Heart Association, discussing how cancer chemotherapy may weaken the heart muscle (cardiomyopathy) and cause rhythm disturbance (arrhythmia), even in previously normal hearts of young cancer patients.
The Philippines is considered one of the diabetes “hot spots” in the Western Pacific region, where the disease is already reaching epidemic proportions. Our government knows this too well, and the increased taxes on sugary drinks is just one of the steps being taken to stem the tide.
