Overview

The National CVD Summit 2026 concluded on 26 September 2026 in Varca, Goa after three days of intensive deliberations aimed at bridging the gap between cardiovascular policy and on‑ground implementation. The summit was organised by the Government of Goa in association with Tricog Health and was held under the theme “Policy and Implementation for Scalable Cardiovascular Care.”

Participants and Themes

Policymakers, cardiologists, physicians, endocrinologists, paediatric and maternal health specialists, public‑health leaders, researchers, programme implementers and health‑technology experts from across India attended. State case studies were presented from Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha, Maharashtra, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Punjab and New Delhi, covering prevention, population‑based screening, paediatric and women’s cardiovascular disease, STEMI response, reperfusion strategies, heart‑failure management and the role of AI and digital health.

Key Statements

  • Shri Vishwajit Rane, Minister for Health, Government of Goa, recalled his father’s heart attack 35 years ago and stressed that the programme aims to ensure no patient in Goa is turned away and that treatment and medication are provided free of cost.
  • Shri Yatindra M. Maralkar, IAS, Health Secretary, Government of Goa, highlighted that every district hospital in Goa is now linked to a STEMI referral pathway supported by Tricog’s AI‑enabled ECG diagnostics at the point of care.
  • Dr Charit Bhograj, Founder & CEO of Tricog Health, stated that the gap in timely cardiac care across India is what Tricog was built to close.
  • Wing Commander Dr Shamanna S. Iyengar, Chair of the Scientific Committee, noted that cardiovascular disease caused 19.4 million deaths globally in 2023 (28.6 % of all deaths) and that India alone lost nearly 3.1 million lives to CVD in 2024, with close to 80 % of the burden deemed preventable.
  • Dr C. N. Manjunath, MP and former director of the Sri Jayadeva Institute, warned that 60 % of India lacks access to a cath‑lab and that each 30‑minute delay in treatment raises mortality risk by seven percent.

State STEMI Experiences

Delegates compared hub‑and‑spoke networks, first‑contact diagnosis, transport logistics, spoke capability, referral mechanisms and data systems across the participating states. Goa’s statewide STEMI programme, launched in 2018, was presented as a model, and other states shared lessons on implementation challenges and successes.

Technology, Evidence and Heart‑Failure

A dedicated session examined scaling pilots to population level, closing data gaps, building integrated research repositories and applying health‑technology assessment and financing frameworks for public‑health adoption. The AI‑enabled diagnostics session discussed regulatory considerations for deploying medical devices at national scale. The heart‑failure track covered registry evidence, early identification of left‑ventricular systolic dysfunction, gender‑related outcome differences and the need for surveillance and decentralized management pathways.

Recommendations to the Ministry of Health

A closed‑door document‑preparation session distilled chair‑led suggestions into a structured set of recommendations focusing on:

  • Scalable prevention and population‑based screening.
  • Nationwide hub‑and‑spoke STEMI systems with reliable referral pathways.
  • Expanded reperfusion access, including fibrinolysis, primary PCI and pharmaco‑invasive approaches.
  • Strengthened paediatric and women’s cardiovascular programmes.
  • Integrated heart‑failure pathways linking detection, specialist referral and longitudinal care.
  • Robust data‑infrastructure and national‑scale clinical operations.
  • Responsible deployment of AI and digital health technologies.

These recommendations were submitted to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for consideration.

About Tricog Health

Founded in 2014 by interventional cardiologist Dr Charit Bhograj, Tricog Health is an AI‑powered cardiac‑care company. Its platform has screened more than 40 million patients, identified over 500 000 heart attacks and flagged nearly 1.5 million critical ECG findings. The technology supports more than 12 000 customers across 15 000 installations, including hospitals, clinics, diagnostic centres and public‑health programmes in collaboration with several state governments.

Media Contact

Shubham Mandal, Deputy Manager – shubham@pcg-ww.com

Haritha Nair, Senior Associate – haritha@pcg-ww.com