The Bicol Regional Hospital Medical Center (BRHMC) has made it to the short list of eight National Cardiovascular Disease Registry Sites in the country.
Now into its seventh month of existence, the Philippine Heart Association (PHA) has been making the rounds of the PHA-initiated National Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Registry sites.
On the occasion of the celebration of the Philippine Heart Month 2025 – Bicol, on February 21-22, 2025, Legazpi City was chosen as the centerpiece of the yearly national event, the PHA National Board of Officers, led by Drs. Rodney Jimenez and Walid Amil, president and vice president, respectively, did a site visit at BRHMC.
PHA Board of Directors with PHA Bicol Chapter officers and the BRHMC Executive Committee
From August 2024 to February 17, 2025, the BRHMC CVD Registry has been progressing gradually but steadily, showing 80 patient-enrollees. To catch up, the entire BRHMC, CVD Registry staff and PHA Bicol Chapter, have pledged to rev up the momentum.
The National CVD Registry’s goal is 5,000 patient-enrollees that should represent the entire archipelago. To meet the entire program’s 5K target, all eight CVD Registry sites should be able to enlist three to four new patient-enrollees per day.
The following regional centers were identified as CVD Registry Sites:
- Bicol Regional Hospital & Medical Center (Bicol)
- Northern Mindanao Medical Center (Cagayan De Oro)
- Angeles University Foundation Medical Center (Pampanga)
- Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center (Baguio City)
- Chong Hua Hospital (Cebu)
- University of the Philippines - Philippine General Hospital (Manila)
- Philippine Heart Center (Quezon City)
- Western Visayas Medical Center (Iloilo City)
The BRHMC and PHA Bicol doctors quipped: “We are pleased and proud to be among the chosen few, and to part of BRHMC.”
Bicol has two regional heart centers, BRHMC emerged as the choice for the National CVD Registry collaboration with the PHA.
Dr. Arbel Perete, head of the BRHMC Regional Heart Center said: “Ito yung first nationwide comprehensive research of the PHA. And through this research, we will be able to produce significant findings and to help the cardiovascular outcomes of our patients here in the Philippines.” A past PHA Bicol Chapter president, Perete was personally approached by Amil for the BRHMC to be a participant in the project.
BRHMC is the only accredited tertiary-level, advanced comprehensive government hospital in the region. So far, BRHMC has been performing surgeries and procedures like bypass, valve replacement, pacemaker insertion and radial and femoral percutaneous coronary intervention, to name a few.
Dr. Arbel Perete
GLOBAL EXPERTISE, LOCAL LANDSCAPE
Speaking on behalf of the center’s top administration and executive committee, Dr. Eric Raymond Raborar, BRHMC medical chief II says that BRHMC, a multi-specialty center, has gained a litany of achievements as a long-standing institution. “Ang aim namin ay huwag na ipadala sa Metro Manila ang aming mga pasyente, dito na lang. For your info, lahat po kami dito libre. “Kung ano man po yung makita niyong pagkukulang, mapupunan po at nakatuon at nakaalalay po ang buong organisasyon ng BRHMC. Goal din po namin maging St. Luke’s sa Bicol.”
Dr. Eric Raymond Raborar
Dr. Marlyn Daguno, BRHMC Nursing Service division head said that “we have been re-accredited by the Philippine Health Research Ethics Board until the year 2028. We are really excited about the result of this study. On behalf of the Institutional Review Board, the BRHMC executive committee will welcome all research na ika-conduct sa amin.”
Dr. Marlyn Daguno
A DREAM-COME-TRUE
“For the longest time, heart specialists have been the most-sought-after speakers in international scientific confabs, but they have been citing data from neighboring Asian and ASEAN nations,” according to Jimenez.
“With scientific- and evidence-based CVD data, we can leverage. Hopefully, we can come out with an interim analysis during the PHA annual convention in May 2025,” he added.
Dr. Rodney Jimenez
Jimenez also stressed that the research registry is the precursor to change or of what’s to come – to enact effective initiatives, policies, and start treatment procedures. Understanding the complexities and prevalence of CVDs as well coming out with a CVD registry should come together.
An impactful national-driven registry is key in the PHA mission: To reduce the number of CVD deaths. This CVD Registry is a dream come true for the PHA which has long shared the common goal of all the international cardiovascular societies in the world to dramatically decrease the CVD burden.
“Research, which includes the CVD registry is among the PHA’s top priority projects. This impactful research undertaking is not personality-driven nor consultant-driven, but a national-driven research agenda. Knowing your documented numbers matters,” Jimenez added.
Amil also spoke about the trials and tribulations of completing the registry in the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic. “Pre-COVID pa po itong plano talaga. So as mentioned, we really needed data na Filipino. Maraming challenges in between, and sabi namin ni Rodney, tutukan nga natin ito. This has to represent the whole Philippine archipelago… Hopefully, we are able to present an interim analysis during the annual convention.”
Dr. Walid Amil
Jimenez concluded: “we promise you that we will have a continuous registry, kasi dapat tuloy-tuloy. We will be using different platforms para cost-effective. Let’s do this one heart beat a time.”
INT’L CVD SOCIETIES TO CURB CVD BURDEN
As of February 17, the entire CVD Registry program had 656 enrolled patients, which is 13.12% of the targeted total of 5,000 patients.
“Aside from it being a law to celebrate, the annual Philippine Heart Month is also a reminder for us to create a future where CVDs are no longer the number one cause of death. Masarap mangarap, kahit imposible, kahit ilang years pa, it’s really hard to achieve that. Lahat ng CVD societies in the world, ‘yan ang mission: to decrease the cardiovascular burden,” according to Jimenez.