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Canada Issues Integrated Brain–Heart Care Guideline With 11 Recommendations

The guidance shows that managing heart risks also protects the brain.

Dr. Jodi Edwards says many heart and brain diseases share overlapping risk factors and numerous other connections.
Dr. Jodi Edwards, director of the Brain and Heart Nexus Research Program at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, says growing recognition of the connection between heart and brain disease motivated the new guidelines published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
An electrocardiogram instrument (ECG) is seen during a first aid drill on a German navy vessel on Sept. 2, 2025. New Canadian recommendations recommend screening people with atrial fibrillation, a heart condition, for risk of cognitive decline.

Overview

  • The clinical practice guideline, published in CMAJ on Monday, integrates neurology, mental health, and cardiology to manage related conditions together.
  • It calls for cognitive screening in people with atrial fibrillation, depression screening in coronary artery disease, tighter blood pressure targets, and stronger cholesterol lowering after stroke or heart attack.
  • It advises routine influenza, pneumococcal, and shingles vaccines for adults 65 and older to cut risks of stroke, heart attack, and vascular cognitive impairment.
  • The team used the C-CHANGE process with patient partners, built sex and gender considerations into each recommendation, and released infographics and decision aids to help primary and specialty care teams put it into practice.
  • The authors say aging patients face overlapping brain and heart risks, so coordinated care could reduce strokes and cognitive decline, with funding from the Canada First Research Excellence Fund supporting the rollout.