Statements

PHA Privacy Policy Statement

The Philippine Heart Association (referred to herein as “PHA”) is an organization of professionals committed to responsible practices concerning the collection, handling, storage and dissemination of online, digital, and electronic information. This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, share, and otherwise process the information through the main PHA Website, https://www.philheart.org/ (and each sub-domain associated with this URL) as well as other websites and digital platforms officially operated by or the PHA (collectively referred to as “PHA sites”).

The PHA remains committed to providing safe and meaningful online spaces for users of the PHA sites as they view, acquire, transmit or receive information. The PHA exerts reasonable efforts to assure users that such sites conform to minimum data privacy standards.

In certain PHA sites that gather particular information about users, the latter must be cognizant of the terms and conditions concerning the capture and use of such information. We use personal information that you voluntarily provide to us on the basis of PHA’s legitimate interests in ensuring the delivery of services through the PHA sites (e.g. processing of transactions, responding to online or electronic queries, communicating society-related activities, changes, and updates. For site administration, site usage, and quality control, we only use non-personally identifiable information in anonymized and aggregated user data
format.

The PHA recognizes the user’s right to: 1) request access to personal data held by PHA, 2) request amendments or updates in stored personal data, 3) request restriction or blocking of the processing of personal data, 4) to withdraw consent to processing of personal data.

The PHA does not endorse any third party entity which may have provided links to any of the aforementioned PHA sites, unless such an endorsement is explicitly stated by the PHA leadership. Thus, PHA will not be responsible for content of linked third party sites and under no circumstances should be held liable for such links or third party sites.

The PHA employs reasonable security measures to avoid unauthorized access to or unauthorized alteration, disclosure, or destruction of personal information of users. The PHA, however, acknowledges that no website nor online data transmission process can be 100% secure. To partially address this matter, certain PHA sites or domains may require a user ID and password as an additional layer of security to protect your personal information. Use of the various PHA sites is voluntary, and persons who do not agree with any of our conditions are advised to refrain from accessing services or information found on these sites.

This Privacy Policy Statement may evolve over time depending on the changes that happen within the organization and the relevance of such policies. As such, the PHA reserves the right to amend this policy statement at any time, for good reason, which such amendments being publicly disclosed in the designated PHA sites.

For any queries or concerns regarding this policy statement, please feel free to contact the PHA through the following official channels:

Philippine Heart Association, Inc.
Telephone: +63 2 8470-5525, +63 2 8470-5528, +63 2 8687-7797
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Website: http://www.philheart.org
Office address: Suite 1108, 11th Flr. East Tower, PSE Centre, Exchange Road, Ortigas Center,
Pasig City, Philippines

PHA Privacy Policy Statement
Effective Date: February 2022
(jdam ver 1, 2-04-22)

What You Need to Know About Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD)

FINAL VERSION PAD FILIPINO trifold 03182021 2 1

FINAL VERSION PAD FILIPINO trifold 03182021 2 2

Joint Statements of the Philippine Heart Association (PHA) and the Philippine Society of Hypertension (PSH) on Elevated Blood Pressure Readings during COVID Vaccination

PHA and PSH support the National Immunization Program for COVID19.

Transient blood pressure elevations were reported during vaccination, but to date, none are directly attributed to any of the COVID19 vaccines. Blood pressure elevation may be due to pain on injection site, anxiety, environmental factors, or a reflection of pre-existing undiagnosed or uncontrolled hypertension.

Along with vaccination for COVID19, it is equally important that screening for, and optimal control of hypertension are continuously done in the community to reduce the risk of severe COVID19 complications. Hypertension is NOT a disqualifier to COVID19 vaccination and to date, none of the COVID19 vaccines with EUA approval for patients with comorbidities specifically state that elevated blood pressure is a contraindication. The risks of vaccination are outweighed by the large benefit that includes the significant reduction of severe COVID infection and mortality.

Specifically, we recommend the following:

1. Accurate blood pressure measurement must be done before and after vaccination (a)

2. Elevations of the sBP > 180 and /or dBP >120 with signs and symptoms of target organ damage (b)

(TOD) or hypertensive-mediated organ damage (HMOD) such as Acute Coronary Syndrome, Heart Failure, Stroke and Acute Kidney Injury, is considered as Hypertensive Emergency and should be referred to the ER immediately (level I, 2017 ACC AHA). In this case vaccination is ideally rescheduled until this life-threatening condition has been stabilized.

3. Individuals with BP elevations not classified as Hypertensive Emergency, may be vaccinated, but must be observed for 30 to 60 minutes post vaccination, monitoring for evolving signs or symptoms of hypertensive emergency, as well as hypotension which may be a manifestation of anaphylaxis.

4. Sublingual medications to lower the blood pressure are no longer recommended due to its adverse effects. Conservative measures including relaxation techniques such as deep breathing exercises, placing the patient in a comfortable environment, allowing patient to void, may help.

5. All individuals with persistent BP elevation not classified as Hypertensive Emergency must be counseled to seek clinic consult for proper work up the soonest possible time.

PHA and PSH will continue to monitor the rapidly evolving landscape of COVID19 vaccination and are committed to update these interim statements as needed or as new data become available.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

a. Accurate BP measurement must be done in a quiet room with comfortable temperature, and must be done at least 30 minutes after exercise, drinking coffee, or smoking, and ideally after voiding urine. The cuff bladder must cover 75 to 100% of the individual’s arm circumference. The patient must be seated, with the back supported, and feet flat on the floor. BP must be taken with the arm bare and resting, with the mid arm at heart level, and the cuff bladder must cover 75 to 100% of the arm circumference.

b. Symptoms of TOD or HMOD include headache and dizziness attributed to a possible neurologic deficit, visual disturbance, chest pain, and difficulty of breathing). Elevations of the sBP > 180 and /or dBP >120 without TOD/HMOD is considered as Hypertensive Urgency. Patients in such cases are advised to reinstitute or intensify oral treatment and arrange for close follow up (2017 ACC AHA).

Released on March 19, 2021