01 Sep 2025
2025 ESC Clinical Consensus Statement on mental health and cardiovascular disease
Task Force Chairs, Professor Héctor Bueno (National Centre for Cardiovascular Research & Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre – Madrid, Spain) and Professor Christi Deaton (University of Cambridge – Cambridge, UK) presented the ESC’s first consensus statement on mental health and CVD1 earlier today.
“The consensus statement addresses mental health conditions across the continuum as both people with symptoms of mental health conditions and people with mental health disorders are at high CVD risk,” explains Prof. Bueno.
The document discusses that there is currently insufficient awareness among healthcare professionals of the prevalence of mental health conditions and their impact on increasing risk of developing CVD. In addition, there is limited appreciation of the incidence and prevalence of mental health conditions and mental disorders among people with CVD and their impact on quality of life, adherence and prognosis. The consensus statement aims to provide insights into the extent and magnitude of the impact of mental health on CVD and vice versa. It also outlines how the negative impacts of this reciprocal relationship can be prevented or minimised.
“The high burden of concomitant CVD and mental health conditions requires an integrated holistic approach to caring for people with CVD, incorporating mental health assessment and management into routine CV care,” says Prof. Deaton. “New care models and Psycho-Cardio teams need to be co-developed in hospital and outpatient CV care units, collaborating with mental health professionals, primary care and social care.” The document suggests a practical approach to making routine care more person-centred and integrated following the ACTIVE principles: Acknowledge, Check, (use validated) Tools, Implement, Venture, Evaluate.
A section discusses the management of CVD in people with severe mental illness, covering various issues including lifestyle, medication-induced risk factors and disparities in management. “Multiple systemic barriers to prevention, screening, diagnosis and treatment have been identified, which lead to inequalities in the CV care received by people with severe mental illness compared with the general population,” notes Prof. Bueno. “To overcome these barriers, healthcare professionals need to be aware of, and address, system level problems including stigma, stereotypes, prejudice and diagnostic overshadowing, where physical symptoms are misattributed to pre‐existing psychological illnesses.”
Prof. Deaton concludes: “People with lived experience of CVD and mental health conditions have been central to the creation of the consensus document and their perspectives underpin the importance of changing practice. Although challenging, we should all try to implement the suggestions made, regardless of our profession, clinical setting or resources.”
Want to know more? Full details can be found in the European Heart Journal.
References
Bueno H, et al. 2025 ESC Clinical Consensus Statement on mental health and cardiovascular disease. Eur Heart J. 2025. doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehaf191.