MANILA, Philippines?Numbers are important. As young kids, we are taught to memorize our home phone numbers and addresses?just in case we get lost and need to find our way home. As adults, numbers all the more become increasingly important not just in our careers but to our health as well.

Today, across the globe, there is a mounting campaign to get people to ?know your numbers??not just their weight and height, but more importantly their blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels.

Experts have found that maintaining blood pressure levels lower than 120/80 mm Hg can help reduce a person risk of stroke or heart attack, while high cholesterol levels can lead to heart disease (The ideal total cholesterol is < 200 mg/dL, LDL ?Bad? Cholesterol < 100 mg/dL, HDL ?Good? Cholesterol > 40 mg/dL). As for blood sugar levels, the early detection and treatment of high glucose levels can help the management of the disease and possibly prevent or delay any damage to the heart, kidney, nerves, blood vessels or eyes. [To control diabetes, the goals of blood glucose levels are 80-100 mg/dL (before eating) and no higher than 140 mg/dL (after eating).

In the Philippines, cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the No. 1 cause of death and the seventh leading cause of morbidity, according to the Department of Health. Hypertension is the most common cardiovascular problem in the country and in many parts of the world. In the region, the Philippines has the highest death rate for hypertension, that is why having your blood pressure read and monitored regularly is a must to ensure its proper control.

According to the experts, having a BP reading of < 120/80 mm Hg is considered ?Normal? while a 120/80 to 139/89 mm Hg reading is called ?Prehypertension.? A person with a BP reading of 140/90 to 159/99 mm Hg is already in ?Stage 1 hypertension? while those with > 160/100 mm Hg are already in ?Stage 2 hypertension.?

The goal in hypertension control is to keep blood pressure levels lower than 120/80 mm Hg. Uncontrolled hypertension can cause heart attacks, heart failure, stroke, kidney failure and other serious problems. However, if a person?s blood pressure is normally low, e.g., 100/60, a blood pressure considered normal might actually indicate an illness or health problem. Blood pressure can also be affected by medications, stress, or lack of physical activity.

In the Philippines, it has been found that 8 out of 10 hypertensives are unable to adequately control their blood pressure, while many are unaware that they have hypertension. For this reason, the Philippine Heart Association (PHA) has embarked on various projects and activities to help reduce the growing incidence of hypertension in the country, along with studies that will look into the possible reasons behind this alarming epidemic.

To spearhead this year?s PHA efforts are the new board of directors (2008-2009), namely: Dr. Ma. Belen Carisma, president; Dr. Maria Teresa Abola, vice president; Romeo Cruz, VP for finance; this writer Angelo Palmones, VP for external affairs; Dr. Eleanor Lopez, secretary; Dr. Isabelo Ongtenco Jr., treasurer; PHA directors Doctors Saturnino Javier, Eugene Reyes and Joel Abanilla; and Dr. Efren Vicaldo as the immediate past president, as announced in the recently held 39th annual convention of the Philippine Heart Association with its theme ?The Classic and Contemporary in Cardiovascular Care.?

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Angelo Palmones is a science and technology broadcaster. For feedback, please e-mail the Healthcare Technology and Outcomes Information Bureau at inquire@ htoib.com.