New Delhi, March 13 (IANS) There is an urgent need to spread awareness about cardiovascular diseases like stroke and diabetes, Minister of State for Health Dinesh Trivedi said here Friday.

'Non-communicable diseaseS require our urgent attention and efforts to curtail it,' Trivedi said while speaking at the inauguration of the Fifth National Congress of the Indian Stroke Association and the International Stroke Conference.

Trivedi also released the national stroke management guidelines on the occasion.

The three-day conference is organised by the Indian Stroke Association at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and is being attended by delegates from across the country and abroad.