Project seeks uniformity in treatment of heart disease, China's No 1 killer

A nationwide project involving nearly 100 hospitals was launched on Saturday, aiming to standardize medical treatment for heart attacks and provide more uniformity between various doctors, as well as better long-term management of patients.

The project is the latest effort by the China Cardiovascular Association to reduce the rate of rehospitalization and death among heart attack patients - whose five-year survival rate is worse than cancer, experts say - and promote better diagnoses and treatment of heart disease.

Heart failure is the serious, often late-stage, manifestation of cardiovascular disease, China's No 1 killer. Its incidence has risen year-on-year.