CVD patients getting younger due to smoking, says expert

MANILA, Philippines - A group of cardiologists has sounded the alarm over the possible epidemic of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and stroke among young Filipinos in the near future because of smoking.

Dr. Saturnino Javier, president of the Philippine Heart Association (PHA), said those suffering from heart attacks and stroke are already getting younger.

“We may not be able to give you the exact figure because the survey that we are always quoting is the National Nutrition Survey (which covers) individuals 18 years old and above,” he said in a health forum organized by the Philippine College of Physicians this week.

But anecdotally, he said, “most of our pediatric cardiologists would agree that we see a rising case of CVD among the younger group.”

And among the risk factors associated with deaths related to heart attack and stroke, smoking is the “most common.”

For the first time, the usually “apolitical” PHA had expressed its support to Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago’s Senate Bill 3249, which it described as the superior version of the sin tax reform bill.

Javier cited his youngest patient in the Makati Medical Center — a 17-year-old male patient who is already suffering from “severe blockage in the heart.”

“His three blood vessels in the heart are already clogged at the age of 17. What we used to confront as a heart attack among 50 or 60 years old, we can now see at the age of 30. Forty is no longer shocking to us. Many of my colleagues have one or two patients similar to this,” he added.

Javier described his young patient as a “heavy smoker” who consumed up to three packs of cigarettes a day, “self-employed in an advertising firm,” overweight, and inactive.

“He has everything going against him. You have a very fertile situation for developing cardiovascular diseases at a young age,” he said.

According to Dr. Anthony Leachon, a consultant for non-communicable diseases at the Department of Health, the Philippines is now known in Asia for having the “highest incidence of smoking” among the young.

“For 13 to 15 years old, we have the highest (smoking incidence) in Asia. Seventeen percent for girls and 28 percent for boys… that is our branding in Asia now,” Leachon added.

Javier said the shift in the profile of CVD cases was “very common in the last decade” when the rising incidence of smoking in the country was also observed.

He warned the rising trend would continue in the future owing to young Filipinos who currently smoke. “It is a consequence that can develop through time,” he added.

Javier said even exposure to smoke from one cigarette could already alter the body’s “genetic material” or “change how your tissue behaves.”

“What it tells you is that there is no such thing as moderate smoking.  One stick is dangerous. A pack is dangerous. There is no middle line unlike alcohol where we have what we call ‘moderate consumption.’ We never tell our children ‘one stick is OK.’ That’s not something we advise,” Javier added.