Filipinos were urged to quit or do not start smoking to reduce the risk of developing heart diseases, an official of the Department of Health (DOH) said.
Smoking is associated with a “two-to fourfold increased risk” of coronary heart disease, said Dr. Maria Rosario Sylvia Uy of the DOH Disease Prevention and Control Bureau.
“Tumigil po sana tayo sa paninigarilyo, kung tayo ay naninigarilyo. And kung hindi naman tayo naninigarilyo, huwag na po natin simulan (If you are a smoker, you should stop. And if you don't smoke, remain a nonsmoker),” said Uy in a media forum on Friday, Feb. 3.
Coronary heart disease is "a type of heart disease where the arteries of the heart cannot deliver enough oxygen-rich blood to the heart," said the US National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
Uy said that smokers who also have other comorbidities are more prone to experience a heart attack.
“Kung meron pa siyang kasamang hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes lahat sila meron synergistic effect, nagkakampi-kampihan sila so mas lalo kang magiging prone na magdevelop ka ng heart attack (If the person also has hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes, these all have a synergistic effect--- so you will be more prone to develop a heart attack),” she said.
The Philippine Heart Association (PHA) also agreed with Uy on the bad effects of smoking.
“Klaro sa lahat ng studies (It's clear from all studies), when you stop smoking, in fact sa tingin natin (in fact, we think), three years of stopping smoking actually reduce your risk of developing coronary artery disease and heart attack,” said PHA member Dr. Luigi Pierre Segundo.
“Makikita mo rin sa mga pasyente na tumigil mag smoke, tumataas yung HDL (high-density lipoprotein), which is good cholesterol, kaya napaka importante nun (It can also be seen in patients who stop smoking that HDL, which is good cholesterol, increases, so that's very important),” he added.
Segundo also urged smokers to give up their habit and adopt a healthy lifestyle.
“May mga doktor po na makakatulong sa inyo kung nahihirapan pong tumigil mag smoke (There are doctors who can help you if you are having a hard time quitting smoking),” he said.