The first ESC statement on mental health and heart disease promotes complete care

A new statement of clinical ESC Consensus calls for a greater awareness of the multi -directional relationship between mental health conditions and cardiovascular disease to improve patients’ health. The first statement of ESC clinical consensus to be developed on this issue was published today in the ESC Congress 2025.

The consent statement recommends that mental health symptoms are systematically submitted during cardiovascular care and cardiovascular risk is usually evaluated for those treated for mental health conditions.

While poor mental health can be a factor that contributes to cardiovascular disease, people living with cardiovascular disease are also at greater risk of poor mental health. Patients with both cardiovascular disease and mental health have worse health effects.

The consent statement has been produced by an international team of experts including Professor Héctor Bueno, the National Center for Cardiovascular Research (CNIC) and the Cardiology Department, the Universitario 12 De Octubre Hospital, Madrid, Spain and Professor Christi Deaton UK.

We want to increase the awareness of the multi -directional relationship between mental health and cardiovascular disease. Everyone increases the risk of the other and the people with the two conditions have worse results and the highest negative health burdens. In this consensus document we summarize what we know about how to prevent or minimize the negative results, but also to highlight significant gaps in our knowledge that needs to be addressed urgently. “

Professor Christi Deaton, Emerita Professor of Nursing, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom

The new statement of consensus also recommends that mental health and psychosocial risk factors will be part of cardiovascular risk risk assessments for healthy people.

Significant changes to clinical cardiovascular care are recommended by consent statement. This includes the creation of psycho-cardiac, multi-scientific groups for the treatment of patients who include mental health professionals, such as psychologists or psychiatrists, who work alongside cardiovascular care professionals. These groups must be integrated into standardized care and adapted to the local need.

Consent statement proposes a cultural shift to treat the deadly combination of mental health and cardiovascular disease.

This will imply improvements in patient care, such as professionals who recognize the complex relationship between mental health and cardiovascular disease, work together to integrate both areas of care, thereby supporting the change in the implementation of a better integrated care with the focus of the human being.

This will present a significant change, as most current cardiovascular care models do not consider that mental health is a major goal.

“Clinical cardiovascular practice often overlooks the impact of mental health and the importance of its interaction on care. We need to see cardiovascular health professionals who develop partnerships with mental health professionals in our psycho-heart groups to help us in Professor Héctor Bueno said.

“We advise that mental health is actively examined in clinical appointments and that control over mental health conditions becomes part of patient evaluation at regular intervals. We also support psychological support for carers,” Professor Bueno concluded.

Consent statement describes problems including:

• Limited assessment among health professionals in the impact and prevalence of mental health conditions in people with cardiovascular disease and the impact of this quality of life, therapeutic adhesion and health results.

  
  

Consensus also describes significant gaps in knowledge of the interaction between mental health, cardiovascular health and diseases. This includes the lack of protocols based on evidence for:

The lack of evidence of the best way of supporting people living in severe mental health is particularly important, including the best way to prevent cardiovascular disease in people living with serious mental illnesses and the way in which people who have serious mental conditions and mental conditions. There is also a need to recover cardiovascular risk ratings for those living with serious mental illness.

People with severe mental illness are at an increased risk of developing supraventricular and abdominal arrhythmias, which may eventually lead to sudden heart death. The increased risk of arrhythmia is caused by multiple factors, including distress arising from their mental health, high prevalence of risk factors, unhealthy lifestyle and possibly certain medicines.

“We hope that the statement of consensus will cause a change that enables patients to feel capable of discussing their mental health with cardiovascular professionals and that they will be more likely to be taken seriously.

The “2025 ESC clinical statement of consensus on mental health and cardiovascular disease” was developed by the Working Group on mental health and cardiovascular disease of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). The statement has been approved by the European Federation of Psychologists, the European Psychiatric Union and the International Behavioral Medicine Society.