Cardiovascular disease (CVD) has become the leading cause of death in Seychelles and a previous survey in 1989 showed high levels of several major CVD risk factors. A second population survey, the Seychelles Heart Study II, was carried out to (1) examine trends in population levels of CVD risk factors, (2) investigate selected CVD outcomes, and (3) examine selected other variables related to CVD such as knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) related to chronic diseases and indicators of impact of an ongoing prevention program. The study was conducted between July and December 1994 on a sex- and age-stratified random sample of the Seychelles population aged 25-64 years. Overall, 1067 (87.0%) out of the eligible 1226 individuals attended the study. All participants were administered a face-to-face structured interview, a rapid physical examination, an electrocardiography and a blood collection. A thorough echocardiography and a high-performance ultrasonographic investigation of the carotid and femoral arteries were performed in a random subsample of approximately half of the participants. This paper details the methods and sampling procedures used in the survey and provides relevant background variables including socio-economic variables, dietary habits, and KAP data relevant to CVD. The distribution in the population of important CVD risk factors is also provided including blood pressure, smoking habits, total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, lipoprotein(a), apoproteins, impaired glucose intolerance, physical activity, body mass index, and alcohol consumption. Electro-cardiographic data, prevalence in the population of atherosclerotic plaques in the carotid and femoral arteries, as well as selected echocardiography indices including left ventricular hypertophy are presented.