RAMON F. ABARQUEZ, JR.
Certified to treat problems of the heart and other heart-related matters, Dr. Ramon F. Abarquez, Jr. brings a wealth of experience in the field of cardiology. His compassion to the ailing Juan de la Cruz, his expertise in cardiac medicine, and his more than 50 years of dedication contributed greatly in maintaining the quality of life of the Filipino cardiac patient. He made numerous studies and discoveries. The exercise electrocardiogram (ECG) was one significant contribution. His electrode design made it possible to get ECG recordings during exercise. This technology has been adapted to commercial treadmill exercise that tests for ECG. Another major contribution is the raised-arm maneuver (RAM). He came up with the RAM to differentiate individuals who are hypertensive from people with normal blood pressure. In hypertensives with endothelial dysfunction, the blood vessel constricts rather than dilate after the arm is dropped from a raised position. According to Dr. Abarquez, the post-RAM BP is lower than the pre-RAM BP in normotensives while the post-RAM BP would remain equal to or even higher than the pre-RAM BP in hypertensives. Such innovations plus the extensive clinical tests he conducted resulted in findings that shed more light in the management of hypertension. His dedication to his craft is evident in the positions he holds currently. Dr. Abarquez is the fellow of the Philippine College of Physicians, Philippine College of Cardiology, and the American College of Cardiology. He is a consultant in the Philippine Heart Center, UP-PGH Medical Center, and the Medical Center Manila. In the world of academe, he is the Professor Emeritus at the College of Medicine at the University of the Philippines; and an academician at the National Academy of Science and Technology. He is a member of the editorial board of numerous publications, namely, International Highlights and Discussions in Ischemic Heart Disease Journal, Medical Progress (MediMedia, Hongkong), Medicine Digest (Medi, United Kingdom), Cardiology Practice, Philippine Index of Medical Specialties, Philippine Journal of Cardiology. In addition to these positions, he is also the South Asia Regional Representative of the World Hypertension League and the Chairman of the Long Range Planning Committee of the Philippine Heart Association. Truly, Dr. Abarquez is the expert in "heart matters".

ANNETTE BORROMEO, M.D.
It takes a special kind of person to deal with emergencies and when the person involved is your own child, it takes an even greater deal of level headedness. Such is the call that Dr. Annette B. Pizarro-Borromeo had to answer. She found her own child being administered with CPR albeit in the wrong manner. She took matters into her own hands and did it herself, with a positive outcome. Society has viewed doctors with high regard but when the doctor is a mother as well, it makes her doubly special. Dr. Borromeo is not only a doctor and wife to Dr. Leonardo A. Borromeo, but is also a mother to three children, Anne Christie, Anne Cathryn and Christian Leo. Despite the demands of being a mother, she has also managed to head the CPR and Education and Research of the Philippine Heart Center. She was also a past president of the Philippine Heart Association (PHA) and led the Institution's battle against cardiovascular disease in the country. Dr. Borromeo also spearheaded milestone projects such as the National Heart Failure Registry Program which conducts surveillance on cardiovascular and non-communicable diseases patients. This is aimed at creating a database that will help other studies in their goal to save more lives. Dr. Borromeo's dedication to her cause led her to lobby for Presidential Proclamation No. 137, which identifies both the PHA and the Department of Health to be in charge of the country's battle against cardiovascular disease and declared 2002 as the National Year of the Heart. All these achievements began with Dr. Borromeo's journey in medicine which started at the University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center. Here she specialized in internal medicine and pursued her sub-specialty training in Cardiology at the Philippine Heart Center. She has devoted her time and efforts to cardiovascular research as a response to the increasing occurrence of cardiovascular disease. Along the way, she has affiliated herself with several distinguished societies related to her specialty. She is a fellow of the American Colllege of Cardiology, the Philippine College of Cardiology and the Philippine College of Physicians. To date, she holds numerous positions among which are as Head of the Out Patient Division of the Philippine Heart Center. She is also the Secretary Treasurer of the Asia Pacific Society of Cardiology and a consultant of the Comprehensive Cardiac Rehabilitation Program of the Philippine Heart Center and is a distinguished member of the Speaker's Bureau of several pharmaceutical companies. She has had several citations that illuminate her career as a physician but the one achievement which must surely stand out in her mind is her role in saving her own son's life. All these accomplishments sum up Dr. Annette Borromeo as a noted cardiologist, an achiever but most of all, en exemplary mother - the true mark of a consummate woman.

HOMOBONO B. CALLEJA, M.D.
"Integrity is the rock foundation of whatever we do or intend to do," says Dr. Homobono Calleja in one of the articles he has written. If the mind speaks, so does the heart. And Dr. Calleja treats the heart with a heart. He upholds the value of integrity in his day-to-day activities as a cardiologist at St. Luke's Medical Center (SLMC) and Makati Medical Center (MMC). According to him, without integrity no commitment can last. Commitment springs spontaneously from integrity. And Dr. Calleja's commitment to his profession can be seen in the numerous positions he holds today plus those he held not so long ago. At present, he is the Director Emeritus of St. Luke's Medical Center Heart Institute, Professor of Medicine and Vice President of William H. Quasha Memorial St. Luke's College of Medicine, Chairman of the Board of Mary Mediatrix Medical Center in Lipa City, and Chairman of SLMC's College of Medicine Scholarship Committee. His past positions, too, were reflections of his dedication in the field of cardiology. He became the president of two distinct associations - - the Philippine Heart Association (PHA) and the Philippine Medical Association (PMA). He served as president of the PMA for four terms. He was founder and president of the Philippine Society of Echocardiography and the Philippine Association of Clinical Electrocardiography. He was also the founder and director of the SLMC Heart Institute. His scientific contributions included more than 400 scientific papers published in both local and international heart journals. He wrote 20 books in cardiology. For many years, he served as Special Editorial Adviser of the ASEAN Cardiovascular and Thoracic Annals. He was the founder and editor of the ASEAN Heart Journal and the editor-in-chief of the Philippine Journal of Cardiology. Dr. H.B. Calleja . . . the cardiologist whose heart speaks of integrity, commitment and excellence.

DR. MILAGROS YAMAMOTO
In a profession and vocation where competition is stiff, Dr. Milagros L. Estrada-Yamamoto stands out. Cardiology, to her, is not merely a science but an art. Dealing with the heart requires passion. And as the Chief of the Section of Cardiology and head of the ICU-CCU and the cardiovascular unit of the University of Sto. Tomas Hospital, Dr. Yamamoto treats the heart compassion and dynamism. Her presence is strongly felt in the academe. As a professor in the Department of Medicine at the UST Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, she has always shown what it takes to be an excellent teacher - one who inspires. She is an innovative teacher-cardiologist because she pushes for changes in the instruction of cardiovascular medicine. These innovations, to name a few, are: the regular heart sounds and murmurs auscultation rounds and examination for undergraduates using the Heart Sounds Simulator, the hiring of "professional patients" for the purpose of physical examination practicals to accommodate a larger number of students, and the structured history taking and interview session for students. Dr. Yamomoto graduated magna cum laude at the UST College of Science (1969) and cum laude at the UST Faculty of Medicine and Surgery (1973). Dr. Milagros Yamamoto … the cardiologist who inspires.