PHA Cebu eyes CPR-Ready Cebu, youth heart health drive

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Working toward a CPR-Ready Cebu and promoting cardiovascular health awareness among the youth are the flagship programs of the Philippine Heart Association (PHA) Cebu Chapter for 2026 to 2027.

These initiatives will complement the PHA’s annual national activities, including Heart Month, World Heart Day, Global Arrhythmia Awareness Day, the midyear convention, the annual convention, continuing medical education lectures, and CPR training.

Over the past two years, the chapter’s CPR and preventive cardiology advocacy programs have gained strong support from local governments in Cebu.

READ: Heart disease still top cause of death in PH in 2024 — PSA

“We started collaborating with the Cebu City and Cebu Provincial governments two years ago,” said Dr. Christine Anne Inso, president of the PHA Cebu Chapter.

She said the organization will continue to strengthen its partnership with the Cebu City and Cebu Provincial governments through its CPR program as it advances its vision of a CPR-Ready Cebu.

“We will champion cardiovascular health awareness among our youth because prevention begins early,” she added.

Inso emphasized that preventive cardiology requires a whole-of-community approach.

“Through schools, communities, sports programs, and social media platforms, we will advocate for healthier lifestyles that can prevent the development of cardiovascular diseases long before they begin. We launched the PHA Cebu website in February 2026 during our postgraduate course, and we will continue to use this platform, along with our Facebook page, for this purpose,” she said.

Following two meetings with Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival last year, the PHA launched a series of barangay-wide hands-only CPR training sessions.

READ: PHA confronts heart failure as an urgent national health threat during Heart Failure Awareness Week 2026

Inso said learning CPR is easy, but CPR education should be continuous to prevent skill degradation and keep up with evolving rescue protocols.

Over the years, most participants in the hands-only CPR training have been barangay health workers (BHWs).

She noted that the biggest barriers to performing hands-only CPR are fear of doing it incorrectly and lack of confidence.

“Most barangay health workers do not know the proper way to perform CPR. We started in one barangay in Cebu City, then expanded to another. We will continue the program with the goal of reaching all 80 barangays. Our target is to conduct training in five to 10 barangays every month,” Inso said.

She stressed that hands-only CPR should be taught to children as young as 10 to 12 years old.

The PHA aims to reach people from all walks of life who are willing to learn a skill that could mean the difference between life and death during a sudden cardiac arrest (SCA).

Aside from medical frontliners, who are required to undergo regular CPR training, teachers, students, security guards, lifeguards, hotel and resort staff, and other members of the community are considered potential lifesavers.

Dr. Jennifer Castillo, immediate past president of the PHA Cebu Chapter, who initiated discussions with local governments on a heart health alliance in 2024 and 2025, said expanding hands-only CPR training among students and beyond Cebu City has remained a priority.

“Two years ago, we were in Lapu-Lapu. Last year, we went to Mandaue. And we have also conducted training at Ateneo,” Castillo said.

On June 26, 2026, the PHA Cebu Chapter inducted its new set of officers for the 2026-2027 term during a ceremony at Casino Español in Cebu City.

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