MANILA, Philippines – Otsuka Philippines Pharmaceuticals Inc. (OPPI), together with the Institute for Studies on Diabetes Foundation (ISDF) and the Philippine Society of Vascular Medicine (PSVM), held its annual Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) Awareness Day last July 18 at the Marikina Sports Park.
Participants included PAD patients, diabetes clubs, doctors, representatives of the University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center, ISDF members headed by its founder Dr. Ricardo Fernando, PSVM members led by Dr. Johnny Shia, and OPPI executives led by Pletaal marketing manager Nina Ricci Baltazar.
The program started off with a motorcade from Riverbanks to the Marikina Sports Center. Participants were able to join morning exercise routines and fun walks as well as play games. Pocari facilitated the games and gave out free samples of their health drink, Pocari Sweat.
During the program, the participants were also able to get free ankle-brachial pressure index (ABPI) test, which determines the fall of blood pressure in the arteries that supply blood to the legs. A low ABPI indicates the presence of PAD. Doctors agree that an ABPI test is an accurate method for detecting PAD.
People who smoke and those with diabetes and hypertension are more likely to develop PAD. Patients with PAD suffer from fatigue, numbness or cramping of the legs and sharp pains when walking, which significantly limits their mobility. They are also at risk of heart attack and stroke.
Medications are available to alleviate the symptoms of PAD. A trusted and reliable drug available is cilostazol. Manufactured by Otsuka Pharmaceuticals Inc., cilostazol is an antiplatelet drug that is used to treat PAD.
Studies have shown that cilostazol efficiently relieves PAD symptoms and even prevents the progression of the disease.
OPPI, ISDF and PSVM have been doing massive campaigns to increase public awareness on PAD, hoping that this will lead to early diagnosis and treatment of the disease.