During the programme, ECG of all participants will be taken and blood tests will be conducted free of cost. The organiser, Centre for Heart Attack Awareness, a non-profit organisation, said it hopes to screen 5,000 people and know their status on cardiovascular diseases.

 The tests will be conducted from September 13 to September 23 at Heart Clinic in Maharajgunj.

Dr Lin Aung, WHO representative for Nepal, said cardiovascular disease remains a major killer in low and middle income countries and Nepal is no exception. He said that the government must support such camps and the findings of the survey have to be used to plan efforts to minimise Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in Nepal. “Nepal has recently endorsed the multi-sectoral NCDs plan and that is a commendable effort,” Dr Aung said. The multi-sectoral plan outlines tasks to be conducted by various government agencies in the country.

 Pulmonologist Dr Arjun Karki, said hearts and lungs are interrelated and efforts to save people from the risk of contracting heart diseases will indeed save the lungs too. He stressed on the need of a healthy lifestyle.

Dr Om Murti Anil, assistant professor at Manmohan Cardiothoracic Vascular and Transplant Centre, said cardiovascular disease remains a leading cause of death in Nepal. He said the results of the survey will be disseminated on September 29. “Many young people are dying due to the disease.

Therefore we will focus on prevention part and the findings of this survey will also help people know the real situation of cardiovascular disease,” said Dr Anil, who is the principal investigator of the survey.