Department of Health officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire (PNA file photo by Yancy Lim)
MANILA – Most cases of aneurysm in the country are gone unreported and undocumented, a health official said Friday.
“Kasi usually kapag dumating sa ospital it's already at that late stage, hindi na nakakagawa nung scanning na kailangan (Usually, the patient is brought to the hospital at the late stage, we’re unable to do the needed scanning) to confirm that it was really aneurysm,” Department of Health officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said during a media forum.
Vergeire made the statement following reports that aneurysm cases “seem to increase in and the casualties are getting younger”.
“Mostly, it would be reported as cerebrovascular incidents and nakikita natin ‘yan sa top leading causes of death dito sa ating bansa (we see that among the top leading causes of death here in our country),” she said.
“So, lumalabas na-stroke ‘yung pasiyente pero 'di nado-document na aneurysm pala ‘yung nangyari and not really stroke (So, it is documented as stroke and not as aneurysm when it’s not really stroke)”.
Aneurysm is a condition that is characterized by the weakening of a person’s arteries where the blood flows away from the heart going to the different parts of the body.
It happens not only in the brain but in the abdomen, heart or legs.
Its most common symptoms in the brain include severe pain in the head, lightheadedness and sudden collapse.
“Iyong iba masakit na masakit 'yung dibdib o tiyan nila and eventually they lose consciousness, dadalhin na sila sa ospital kapag ganyan (Some experience severe chest pain or stomachache and eventually they lose consciousness, then they will be brought to the hospital),” Vergeire said.
She noted that aneurysm can be caused by controllable factors like smoking and uncontrollable factors like hereditary illnesses which cause the weakening of the vessels in the body.
“For us to prevent that [aneurysm], we must control the factors we can control, and how do we do that, primary care is our management for this. People should always have themselves checked especially kung meron silang risk for hypertension in their family, kung meron silang (if they have risk for hypertension in their family, if they have) unhealthy lifestyle like smoking and all,” she said.
The country’s primary healthcare facilities can provide the public advise on the proper management and prevention for this kind of illnesses, she added.
On Friday, singer Jovit Baldivino passed away at 29 years old after being in comatose for five days.
Baldovino was rushed to a hospital nearest to the events place in Batangas City where he fell ill.
His CT scan showed blood clots in his brain, which health experts consider a sign of aneurysm.
He was taking hypertension medications for a week as he was previously advised to take a rest by the doctors. (PNA)
