YOUR HEART NEVER STOPS WORKING. HAVE YOU CHECKED ON IT LATELY?
A practical guide to blood pressure, 2D echo, and heart screening for patients in Pasig City and nearby Metro Manila.
Dominic Marcel A. Alfonso, MD, MBA, MSc, MRSB, FRSM
Written for ARDI Heart Health Education
96K Ischaemic heart disease deaths in the Philippines, Jan to Nov 2024.
19.3% share of all registered deaths in the PSA provisional report.
24 hrs ABPM checks blood pressure during daily activity and sleep.
Heart disease is not an old person's problem. In the Philippines, it remains the leading registered cause of death, and it often develops more quietly than people expect. A Philippine Statistics Authority provisional report recorded 96,049 deaths from ischaemic heart disease from January to November 2024, accounting for 19.3 percent of all registered deaths nationwide.
The difficult part is that heart disease does not always begin with chest pain. Many people feel normal while high blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol buildup, smoking, poor sleep, stress, and family history are already placing extra strain on the heart. The damage can build slowly for years before symptoms become obvious.
This is why prevention should feel practical, not frightening. The goal is not to alarm patients. The goal is to find risk early, understand what is happening inside the body, and act while there is still time to prevent complications.
A good heart check should not depend on one clinic blood pressure reading alone. That single number can be useful, but it may not show what happens during work, traffic, sleep, exercise, or stress. For some patients, the clinic reading is higher than usual because of anxiety. For others, the clinic reading looks fine while blood pressure is high during ordinary life.
Who should pay closer attention?
Repeated high or borderline blood pressure readings
Diabetes, high cholesterol, kidney disease, or sleep apnea
Smoking, weight gain, inactivity, or a high-sodium diet
Family history of heart attack, stroke, heart failure, or sudden cardiac death
Chest discomfort, shortness of breath, palpitations, dizziness, leg swelling, or a newly heard murmur
The key issue: blood pressure changes throughout the day. Some people have normal readings in the clinic but high readings outside it, called masked hypertension. Others have higher readings only during clinic visits, called white coat hypertension. A 24-hour view helps your doctor treat the real pattern.
For context, NICE guidance uses different targets depending on how blood pressure is measured. For adults with hypertension aged under 80, the usual clinic blood pressure target is below 140/90 mmHg. When monitoring is done through ABPM or home blood pressure monitoring, the corresponding target is below 135/85 mmHg. This is one reason 24-hour monitoring can be useful: it gives a more realistic picture than a single clinic reading.
Two tests. One clearer heart picture.
24-Hour Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring
ABPM uses a small wearable monitor to record blood pressure across a normal day and night. It helps show average blood pressure, night-time pressure, dipping pattern, white coat hypertension, masked hypertension, and possible medication concerns.
2D Echocardiography
A 2D echo, also called an echocardiogram or heart ultrasound, uses sound waves to show the heart in motion. It can assess pumping function, chamber size, heart muscle thickness, valves, and fluid around the heart.
Available at ARDI
Together, these tests answer two questions patients often care about most: what is my blood pressure really doing, and how is my heart handling it? The answers can help connect symptoms, risk factors, and treatment decisions into a clearer plan. At ARDI in Pasig City, two noninvasive cardiac tests can help your doctor make a clearer assessment: 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring and 2D echocardiography.
When should you ask about testing?
Ask your doctor about 24-hour ABPM or 2D echo if your blood pressure is repeatedly high, your readings vary widely, you have risk factors, or you feel chest discomfort, breathlessness, palpitations, dizziness, fainting, or leg swelling. These tests do not replace a consultation. They help your physician decide what needs attention and what can be monitored safely.
Know your BP and act early! Book a cardiac assessment at ARDI. 24-hour ABPM and 2D Echo are available. Call us: 0966 263 8100 (Ardi Malinao branch).
Evidence basis: Philippine Statistics Authority 2024 provisional causes of death, WHO cardiovascular disease guidance, NICE hypertension guidance, 2024 ESC hypertension guidance on blood pressure measurement, and American Heart Association patient information on echocardiography.
Heart Health | Education