China's first distance learning school for cardiovascular diseases aims to improve medical skills among doctors, especially those who treat patients in rural areas.

The school is connected to Fuwai Hospital, the country's top cardiovascular disease hospital in Beijing, and the National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases.

The school will provide the latest online medical information related to cardiovascular disease prevention and treatment, and will upload videos of surgeries by the country's top surgeons on its website.

"The platform will share those rare cases, as well as surgical and treatment experiences based on the great number of cases in big hospitals. It should be a good way to enhance treatment skills in rural China," Dr Zheng Zhe said.

Cardiovascular diseases are among the top threats to people's health and threaten more than 300 million Chinese, Zheng said. However, there is no national standard for treatment due to a lack of regular training, especially in small towns and villages.

Heart and brain strokes are now among the most common cases in emergency rooms in Beijing, said He Tieqiang, an official from the National Health and Family Planning Commission.

"Apart from training doctors, popularizing first-aid knowledge among the public is also very important, and can increase survival among patients," he said.

The distance learning school is supported technically by 24 Hours Medical Broadcasting, China's biggest online platform for sharing surgical videos and reports from medical conferences.