The Canadian Alliance for Healthy Hearts and Minds Follow-Up Study aims to better understand the factors that influence cardiovascular and brain health by following participants from Canadian cohort studies. The project seeks to identify the determinants of chronic diseases and to inform preventive interventions for populations at risk.
Canadian Alliance for Healthy Hearts and Minds – 2nd collection
Status
Upcoming
Start date
End 2026
Sample size
1500
Study objective
To better understand heart and brain aging
Description
The Canadian Alliance for Healthy Hearts and Minds is a large study conducted between 2014 and 2018. It brings together several existing Canadian cohorts, including CARTaGENE (1,500 participants).
Each enrolled individual underwent a comprehensive assessment of their cardiovascular and brain health, including physical and cognitive tests, as well as multiple magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of the heart, brain, carotid arteries, and abdominal region. Participants also completed questionnaires on their lifestyle habits, diet, physical activity, substance use, and access to healthcare. They provided consent, filled out online questionnaires, and visited clinics for physical measurements and MRI scans. Each participant also agreed to be recontacted to document new health events.
The proposed follow-up now consists of two components:
- Part 1
The same participants are invited to update their health status through online questionnaires. These questionnaires cover recent hospitalizations, heart attack, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, stroke, type 2 diabetes, depression, anxiety, quality of life, COVID-19 history, cognitive function, and, for female participants, pregnancy history.
- Part 2
Participants who have completed Part 1 and meet eligibility criteria will be invited to undergo a new MRI and a clinical assessment.
