China's economic boom has benefited many in the country, including those living in the country side. It means having more food that is heavier in oil, salt and meat, and a less labor intensive workload. But this, combined with an insufficient health care system in the rural areas, has led to a sharp rise in heart disease and cardiac related deaths in recent decades.

This weekend, Dr. Robert Detrano and a team of volunteers will be going to the city of Kunming in Yunnan Province, one of the poorest areas in China, to provide free cardiac care. He will also be training Chinese doctors on preventative cardiac care in two hospitals in Kunming.

Dr. Detrano is the founder of the China California Hearth Watch, a not-for-profit organization which aims to research and reduce the extent of heart disease in the Chinese countryside. He has been practicing medicine for over two decades and is currently a Professor of Medicine at the University of California at Irvine.

(CRI October 11, 2007)