The city government here has expanded the Healthy Hearts Program, considered a milestone in the fight against cardiovascular disease.

Councilor Alan Zaldivar, chairperson of the Committee on Health, Sanitation and Hospital Services of the Sangguniang Panlungsod (City Council), said the city government will expand the program to fight hypertension, one of the leading diseases in Iloilo City.

“Our city government, through our health office, will spearhead this program and our partners and stakeholders will augment our existing programs and services on hypertension. We will provide medicines for the control of the disease,” he said in an interview on Wednesday.

“We need to reach the target of 80 percent for 2026 and 90 percent for 2027 when our patients will be treated and the disease will be controlled.”

The targets are adults aged 20 and above for screening using the Philippine protocol for essential non-communicable disease interventions.

Zaldivar represented Mayor Raisa Treñas during the launching of the expanded program at the city hall penthouse on Tuesday afternoon.

The city government, in its roadmap presented by Dr. Althea Tampos from the Iloilo City Health Office, said it will employ a strategy “combining top-down policy implementation with bottom-up community engagement.”

This method involves strengthening governance, equipping health workers with proper training, and engaging barangay health workers (BHWs) to generate demand for health services.

Before the Healthy Hearts Program, the city government had been assisting hypertensive residents identified through the Philippine Package of Essential Non-communicable Disease Interventions (PhilPEN) risk assessment of the Department of Health.

During the first six months of 2025, around 64,913, or 22.04 percent of adults 20 years old and above, were assessed using PhilPEN.

Of those assessed, 3,937, or 6.07 percent, were provided with medicines.

The Healthy Hearts is a collaborative initiative with the DOH, the World Health Organization (WHO), and Resolve to Save Lives.

It was piloted in the first district of Iloilo province and achieved over 86 percent blood pressure control rates among hypertension patients.

Dr. Mary Ann Sta. Lucia, chief of the Local Health Support Division of DOH Western Visayas said that for the second quarter of this year, 27,165 hypertensive patients were screened, diagnosed, and treated in the first district alone, with 74 percent achieving controlled blood pressure. (PNA)