Our mission

The Canadian Alliance of Healthy Hearts and Minds cohort study was created to identify the “Causes of the Causes” of vascular disease amongst Canadians. A central feature of this cohort study is the use of imaging to identify the pre-clinical risk states identified in the heart, brain, arteries, and specific adipose tissue depots, that if identified early, could lead to interventions to prevent clinical cardiovascular and other chronic diseases.

Our rich CAHHM dataset includes unprecedented, detailed, and comprehensive imaging of a cohort of 8,258 multiethnic, healthy, middle-aged Canadians. Our work to-date suggests previously underexplored pathways that connect the heart and brain. If carefully delineated, these will transform our understanding of CVD causation, establishing new prevention targets.