Uzbekistan rolls out AI-backed emergency care to fight heart attacks and strokes

Under the program, all residents aged over 30 will undergo annual screenings to assess their risk of heart attacks and strokes. The national strategy is based on the international Stent for Life and Action Plan for Stroke frameworks and is designed to significantly strengthen both pre-hospital and in-hospital care.

Emergency care and hospital readiness

Around-the-clock heart attack and stroke response teams will be established at interdistrict centers for combined trauma and acute vascular diseases. Emergency medical services will be equipped with telemetric electrocardiographs capable of real-time data transmission and artificial intelligence–based analysis, as well as monitored defibrillators.

Hospitals will be fully supplied with thrombolytic drugs and consumables required for urgent surgical interventions in patients with acute cardiovascular and cerebrovascular conditions. Private medical institutions will also be involved in providing emergency inpatient care for such cases, with their services financed through the State Medical Insurance Fund.

Phased nationwide rollout

Following the launch in Tashkent city and Samarkand region in May, the program will expand to Andijan, Namangan and Fergana regions in October. From January next year it will cover Karakalpakstan, Bukhara and Khorezm regions, followed by Jizzakh, Syrdarya and Tashkent regions in April 2027. Kashkadarya, Navoi and Surkhandarya regions will be included from July 2027.

From 2027 onwards, at least UZS 280 billion will be allocated annually to finance the program’s activities.

Funding priorities

By 1 July, funding from the state budget will be allocated across regions for key components of the programme, including:

• UZS 16 billion for the procurement of thrombolytic medicines;
• UZS 7.5 billion to supply interdistrict centers with diagnostic drugs and consumables for acute stroke cases;
• UZS 82 billion to equip specialized medical institutions with medicines and consumables for stenting and vascular surgery in stroke treatment;
• UZS 135 billion to equip emergency medical teams with telemetric ECG devices and monitored defibrillators.

Digital transformation

The Ministry of Health, together with the Ministry of Digital Technologies, has been tasked with introducing digital solutions into the treatment system for acute cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases by 1 April. Planned measures include creating an electronic registry of patients at risk of heart attacks and strokes within the national e-health system, enabling real-time transmission and AI-assisted analysis of ECG results, digitizing the “golden hour” clinical pathway, and establishing a vertical telemedicine system linking emergency services, regional hospitals and national medical centers.

Governance and workforce development

From 1 March, a coordination council comprising 13 specialists from national medical centers and international experts will begin work to oversee service delivery, screening programs, patient pathways and the national disease registry.

The program also provides for training of neurointerventionists – specialists who perform minimally invasive vascular procedures on the brain and spinal cord. Each year, at least 10 doctors will be sent to Japan and European Union countries for training and certification.

Public awareness and prevention

In parallel, authorities will roll out nationwide awareness and prevention campaigns focused on risk factors for heart attacks and strokes. These will include social advertising encouraging rapid response in emergencies, educational sessions for school pupils and students on recognizing early stroke symptoms, and annual public events on World Heart Day and World Stroke Day offering free checks of blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol levels.