Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Health is wealth as what they say. It is true; with bag down health we cannot be productive enough to go to our workplace and earn money. Our diet is the main basis of our health status. Though there are people who are very conscious of what they eat but there are those who dont. Philippines is one those countries in Asia Pacific which experiences very high temperature not only in dry season but also on wet season. Filipinos, have this culture of food festive. They cook a lot in every occasion and eat selflessly. These foods may or may not be healthy but still they dont care and continue to eat. Their negligence on what they eat plus the very high temperature is the main reason that Filipinos have the high risk of having a high blood pressure or hypertension. Hypertension, also referred to as high blood pressure, is a condition in which the arteries have persistently elevated blood pressure. Every time the human heart beats, it pumps blood to the whole body through the arteries. Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing up against the blood vessel walls. The higher the pressure the harder the heart has to pump. Hypertension can lead to damaged organs, as well as several illnesses, such as kidney failure, aneurysm, heart failure, stroke, or heart attack. (Christian Nordqvist, 2009).

According to the statistics, one in every four Filipino adults suffers from hypertension or high blood pressure, the biggest risk factor for heart and kidney diseases, as well as diabetes.

Worse, the number of Filipinos with hypertension continues to increase, including those addicted to high salt snacks and other processed foods. (Department of Health, 2010).

This leads the researchers to establish a goal of determining if Balatong as a content in an Improvised Blood Pressure Reducing Patch can be a potential on being a high blood pressure reducing agent. Statement of the Problem General Objective: The main objective of this study is to determine of the effectiveness of the Improvised Blood Pressure Reducing Patch using Sphygmometer. Specifically, it seeks to answer the following questions: 1.) Can the Improvised Blood Pressure Reducing Patch with Soya (Glycine Max.) as content reduce the high blood pressure of a human externally? 2.) Is there any significant difference on the blood pressure level of a human applied with the improvised patch in comparison with the control group? Hypotheses 1.) There is no significant difference on the human blood pressure before and after the external application of the Improvised Blood Pressure Reducing Patch with Balatong Aso (Cassia occidentalis) which has Nitric Oxide property. 2.) There is no significant difference on the human blood pressure before and after the external application of control group.

Significance of the Study This study would benefit the various sectors due to the following reasons: Department of Science and Technology (DOST) - A reinforcement of the natural effort towards natural products and medicine researches. Department of Health- The outcome of this can benefit the governments program for promoting natural, cheap yet effective medicine. It can also save the government in terms of financial aspect in giving free medicines to indigenous people. Environment- Since the patch is composed of natural herb this is very environmental-friendly and cost no harm to the environment. Medical Industry- The results of this study can be a basis for a new, alternative and a low-cost treatment for those who constantly have high blood pressure. Community- The results and findings of this study can provide information to ordinary people that there is an alternative treatment which is the patch for those who suffer high blood pressure that is low-cost and safe for their health. Researchers- The results of this study will benefit the future researchers as their basis or reference in the field of hypertension and how to reduce it.

Scope and Limitations

This study focused only on the blood pressure reducing activity of the improvised patch with Balatong/Soya (Glycine max.) as content on human blood pressure which is applied externally. This study will be conducted at the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Provincial Hospital to determine the effect of the improvised patch in reducing the blood pressure of a hypertensive patient. The Pretest-posttest Control Group Design was used in the study. Results were analysed statistically using t-Test for Dependent Means to determine if there was a significant difference among the improvised patch, the commercial patch and the control group.

Definition of Terms The following are defined conceptually and operationally for the better understanding: Patch - A usually disk-shaped piece of material that is worn on the skin and contains a substance (as a drug) that is absorbed at a constant rate through the skin and into the bloodstream. (MiriamWebster Dictionary) Hypertension - Hypertension, also referred to as high blood pressure, is a condition in which the arteries have persistently elevated blood pressure. Every time the human heart beats, it pumps blood to the whole body through the arteries. (Christian Nordqvist, 2009). Cholesterol - A waxy substance found in your body that is needed to produce hormones, vitamin D and bile. Cholesterol is also important for protecting nerves and for the structure of cells. (Jegtvig, S. 2012); in this study, it will be the researchers dependent variable.

Conceptual Framework Independent Variable Intervening Variable Dependent variable

Treatment A Improvised Blood Pressure Reducing Patch

Treatment B Commercial Blood Pressure Reducing Patch

Human

Blood Pressure Level

Treatment C Untreated Group

Fig.1. A schematic diagram showing the relationship between the Improvised Blood Pressure Reducing Patch and the control group on lowering the blood pressure level of a human.