Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada ordered yesterday an intensified blood pressure (BP) screening test in all of the city’s 896 barangays to help hypertensive Manileños.
Estrada issued the order as he led the launching of the May Measurement Month 2017 (MMM17), a nationwide BP screening program of the Department of Health (DoH) in line with the celebration of the 8th National Hypertension Awareness Month (NHAM).
Through the MMM17, Estrada said the DoH and the city government of Manila “will be able to aggressively address the crisis of hypertension.”
“Hypertension is still the number one killer disease not only in the Philippines but also in many other countries,” Estrada said.
“We should do our part here in Manila in helping the national government drum up awareness on hypertension and help save precious lives,” he added.
Manila Health Department (MHD) chief Dr. Benjamin Yson said they will set up BP screening booths at the city hall where city hall employees, visitors, and residents can have their blood pressure tested for free. This is in addition to the deployment of health workers and volunteers who will conduct informantion campaign and free BP screening in all barangay.
“DoH is targeting at least 500,000 Filipinos for this program. On our part, as directed by Mayor Estrada, MHD will also be doing free BP screenings in the barangays and at the city hall during the entire month of May with the hope of diminishing the incidents of heart attacks and strokes,” Yson said. (Jaimie Rose R. Aberia)