India, Aug. 14 -- In the Dhammapada Atthakatha of Buddhist literature, Kisa Gotami requests the Buddha to revive her dead child. The Buddha asks Gotami to find a household that had never known death and get a few mustard seeds to bring back her son to life. She went from house to house but found that every family had experienced loss. The lesson was that death, however painful, is a part of every human life.

Today, another reality touches an increasing number of Indian households: cardiovascular disease (CVD). A heart attack or stroke can alter not just one life, but an entire family's health, finances, and future. In addition, it also impacts a nation's economy as most people are developing heart attacks or strokes at a young age.

This...