The Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS) on Reframing Heart Health

Cardiovascular services have traditionally been anchored in academic and tertiary care settings. Dr. Virani acknowledged that history, while emphasizing that heart health care is increasingly being delivered closer to home.

“We are focused on understanding the needs of community-based cardiovascular care providers,” he said, referring not only to cardiologists, but also to internal medicine physicians, primary care physicians, nurse practitioners and others caring for patients with cardiovascular disease or at risk of developing it.

For CCS, this has meant reassessing how value is delivered to clinicians who may not be closely connected to academic centers, but who nonetheless play a central role in patient care. Rather than framing this as a simple expansion of membership, Dr. Virani described it as a process of listening and responding.

That same reflection extends to trainees. Through the Canadian Cardiovascular Society Academy (CCSA), the Society’s charitable arm, learners are engaged early in their professional journeys, but Dr. Virani noted that sustaining that engagement through the transition into independent practice remains a challenge the Society is actively trying to understand.

Guideline development remains one of the Society’s most visible contributions. Dr. Virani pointed to a recent comprehensive review of CCS guidelines using the AGREE II framework, which assesses rigor, transparency and methodological quality.

Beyond internal benchmarking, he emphasized the broader role guidelines play within the cardiovascular ecosystem. “Other societies look to us for that level of guidance,” he noted, referencing both international cardiovascular organizations and other Canadian medical societies.

For him, that influence carries responsibility. The goal is not simply to produce guidance, but to ensure it is credible, usable and responsive to the realities clinicians face in practice. CCS also supplements formal guidelines with clinical practice updates and white papers, particularly in areas where science is emerging and clinicians are seeking clarity.

As new technologies reshape healthcare, Dr. Virani described how CCS is beginning to explore the role of AI across its work. Rather than treating AI as a catch-all solution, he framed it as an area requiring deliberate thought.

“Historically, we think about how AI can be used for administrative functions,” he said, “but increasingly we need to look at how we can use AI to advance care.”

To guide that exploration, CCS has convened a member-led working group focused on identifying where AI could meaningfully support both internal operations and heart health care more broadly. Dr. Virani emphasized that member engagement will be central to determining how and where AI is applied.

Equity was a recurring theme throughout the conversation, particularly in relation to Indigenous health. Dr. Virani spoke about CCS’s emerging Indigenous Action Plan and the Society’s broader commitment to culturally safe, anti-racist care.

He highlighted a recent milestone as part of that work. “I’m very proud that for the first time in a Canadian Cardiovascular Society guideline, the heart failure guideline that we published a few months ago, there is deliberate focus on indigenous peoples, calling out barriers to care and the need to ensure equitable access,” he said.

For Dr. Virani, explicitly naming disparities and barriers to care within clinical guidance is an important step toward addressing inequities, especially in a country where geography and access continue to shape health outcomes.

Dr. Virani also reflected on the range of partnerships that support CCS’s work. Government engagement, he explained, remains central, particularly around prevention and access. CCS regularly works with policymakers and legislators, including advocacy efforts focused on cardiovascular prevention and access.

Research partnerships are similarly important. CCS collaborates with organizations such as the Public Health Agency of Canada, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Heart & Stroke Foundation, including through initiatives like the Myocarditis Vaccine Registry, established to better understand myocarditis in the context of COVID-19 vaccination.

Industry partnerships, he added, play a key role in education and knowledge translation. As new therapies and technologies emerge, CCS helps disseminate guidelines and best practices — particularly to clinicians practicing outside academic centers — ensuring that leading practice reaches those delivering care.

He also pointed to the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress as a key annual event where clinicians, researchers, trainees and partners come together to share science, guidelines and practical insights from across the country.

As he enters his final year as President, Dr. Virani described a period of reflection for CCS, one shaped by evolving global relationships, continued work on equity and careful exploration of AI and other emerging technologies.

“Building our membership is the foundation of everything that we do,” he said, emphasizing that understanding and responding to members’ needs is what allows the Society to adapt as heart health care continues to change.

From his perspective, staying relevant means remaining closely connected to CCS members and the broader cardiovascular community wherever they practice and however the landscape evolves.