Vatican City, 25 October, 2021 / 7:00 pm (ACI Africa).
A mobile health clinic stopped in St. Peter’s Square on Monday to provide nine hours of free heart and general check-ups for the poor and homeless who live near the Vatican.
The clinic is part of an initiative called “The Streets of the Heart,” which is traveling around Italy to raise awareness about the prevention of cardiovascular diseases.
According to the Italian Society of Cardiology, with the coronavirus pandemic, the rate of heart attacks tripled in 2020 compared to 2019, and one in two heart patients did not show up for follow-up visits.
Doctors from Rome’s San Carlo di Nancy Hospital worked at the clinic throughout the day, seeing around 100 people, cardiologist Sandro Carta said.
He told EWTN News on Oct. 25 that “today was a special day, dedicated to those called ‘the least,’ those most in need, those who do not have easy access to primary care.”
