Mongolia screenings find child heart disease

Mongolia has begun health screenings for 6-year-olds, focusing on eye, dental, and heart conditions.

In Ulaanbaatar alone, the screenings revealed over 400 cases of heart disease among children. Of these, about 130 children required surgery. As part of the Mongolian Minister of Health’s “Improving the School-Based Early Detection System” policy, 33,901 first-grade children in the capital city were screened for heart disease during the 2024–2025 school year.

The first-stage screening, an electrocardiogram, was conducted and evaluated by pediatric cardiologists, and 7,241 children showed abnormal results. Normally, the heart rate of a 6-year-old child is around 75–115 beats per minute. If the rate is consistently too fast or too slow, it could be a cause for concern. For any of the above symptoms, doctors recommend consulting a healthcare professional.