In South Asia, burden of cardiovascular and other chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) have increased in an unprecedented scale and are expected to be much greater than any other geographical area worldwide. A fifth of the global population are now South Asians, and they currently represent the largest immigrant group in major Western countries (including the United Kingdom). There is a growing interest, therefore, in (1) better understanding their risk profile and (2) developing bespoke interventions to prevent NCDs in these populations.

BangladEsh Longitudinal Investigation of Emerging Vascular Events (BELIEVE) study, in this regard, has been designed as a large-scale prospective cohort investigation among South Asians. The study, in collaboration with National Heart Foundation in Bangladesh, aims to recruit up to 50,000 community-based individuals (age >5 years) from households in Bangladesh. The study population is being recruited through household survey (presently in urban areas of Capital Dhaka, and then from 2017, a semi-rural Sylhet region) to ensure maximum and generalizable participation, particularly from individuals with shared environmental and genetic background.