MANILA, Philippines - Department of Health (DOH) Assistant Secretary Dr. Eric Tayag recently reminded Filipinos to take care of their hearts through a healthy lifestyle.

Tayag said one way of doing this is to avoid eating processed foods because these have high sodium content that could lead to hypertension.

The health official said it’s about time people seriously start thinking about controlling their weight.

“When you say weight control, it means eating the right kinds of foods. It is important to avoid processed food because it has high sodium content. This can lead to high blood pressure,” Tayag told reporters at the annual Heart Month Fair, organized by the Philippine Heart Association (PHA) held in Cainta recently.

Heart Month, which is observed in many countries, aims to promote heart disease awareness and address the most common prevalent forms of cardio-vascular diseases, particularly coronary artery disease.

Tayag said the DOH is actively pursuing a healthy lifestyle advocacy, which they plan to launch in March.

“Next month, we will introduce the healthy Filipino diet to raise awareness on the importance of weight control,” Tayag said.

“We are promoting the tenets of a healthy lifestyle. This means no smoking, no diabetes, no hypertension, more exercise and stress management,” he said.

Dr.Saturnino Javier, PHA vice president and Heart Month chair, shared Tayag’s view on the importance of a healthy lifestyle.

“At least 80 percent of premature deaths from heart disease and stroke could be curbed if the main risk factors – tobacco, unhealthy diet and physical inactivity – are controlled,” Javier said.

According to experts, about 1.7 million people around the world die every year by heart disease and stroke, and 82 percent of these cases come from the developing world.

“It is also quite alarming that for low-to-middle income countries like the Philippines, the number of precious lives that succumb to this otherwise preventable cardio-vascular disease continues to increase,” he said.

Javier said it is important to avail of risk factor screenings like consultation, checking on blood pressure and cholesterol level and getting one’s blood sugar and ECG to determine if one is already hypertensive or has diabetes.

“The concern among Filipinos is that heart diseases can be silent. You may not feel anything or complain about anything but you already have high blood, diabetes and high cholesterol. It’s a ticking time bomb,” he said.

He added that the PHA is currently shaping public health agenda to reduce cardio-vascular deaths through prevention and proper management.