The health personnel of the Guna Yala region received training this morning on the implementation of the global HEARTS initiative, which seeks to strengthen the comprehensive approach to non-communicable or chronic diseases in the country.
Melva Cruz, general director of public health at Minsa, indicated that HEARTS is an initiative of the World Health Organization/Pan American Health Organization (WHO/PAHO), focused on the prevention and control of cardiovascular diseases, which puts emphasis on hypertension.
Cruz explained that the main non-communicable diseases detected in Panama are cerebrovascular disease, cancer, respiratory diseases, diabetes and mental illness.
Meanwhile, Elsa Arenas, in charge of the Department of Chronic Noncommunicable Diseases of the Minsa, said that according to the health survey that was carried out in 2019 in Panama, it showed that 44% of the population over 18 years of age suffer from hypertension. arterial, about 6% are suffering from diabetes and cancers reach up to 40% specifically in the breast and prostate.
I make it clear that obesity in Panama is a disease; 72% of the population has some type of overweight and it is a jump to trigger other pathologies. He mentioned that chronic kidney disease also manifests itself as another public health problem.
Finally, Jorge Victoria, interim representative of PAHO, pointed out that the Ministry of Health is coordinated and supported with the implementation of HEARTS, which seeks to intensify the fight against cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, which have caused the majority of deaths in recent years. in Panama and that are risk factors even for patients diagnosed with Covid-19, because they can complicate their situation.
“It is important to have a methodology that allows these two pathologies (diabetes, cardiovascular diseases) to be managed at the first level of care and all the provinces of the country have been trained and from today it is up to the regional regions”, pointed out the dr Victory.
In 2021, health personnel were trained in 44 facilities at the primary care level, and in 2022 a series of workshops has been scheduled for the county regions.
The program seeks to integrate itself in a transparent and progressive way with existing health services to promote best practices worldwide in the prevention and control of cardiovascular diseases and improve service performance.
