Canadian Cardiovascular Society

About Us

The CCS is the trusted voice in Canada for cardiovascular care professionals, bringing together more than 2,500 medical specialists and key members of the heart health team to advance research, education, and care. Stakeholders, decision-makers, and professional groups turn to the CCS first to consult us on new developments and emerging issues in cardiovascular care in Canada.

Where It All Began

Our story dates back to 1947 when three Canadian heart specialists set out on a mission to unravel the complexities of preventing, diagnosing, and treating cardiovascular disease. Driven to create a group of doctors who could collaborate, research, share information, and learn from each other, they founded the Canadian Heart Association, which eventually became the Canadian Cardiovascular Society in 1962.

Pictured: Dr. Cecil C. Birchard, First CCS President from 1947-1949

Our Impact

Membership

We are the secretariat for the One Heart Team, which fosters inclusivity for the entire cardiovascular care team by connecting cardiovascular sub-specialty Affiliate societies and CCS to exchange and learn from each other. We also foster Canadian research and practice excellence and innovation through CCS member grants and awards and develop Canadian cardiovascular practitioners through the lifetime of their career, from trainee to early career, mid-career, and into retirement.

Excellence and Evidence

CCS Guidelines and Clinical Practice Updates are developed and published through the world-renowned knowledge, expertise, and contribution of CCS members and Affiliates, setting standards for excellence in heart health and care. CCS Guidelines documents are accompanied by robust knowledge translation strategies to support awareness and adoption of recommendations. We engage the wide spectrum of heart health provider professional audiences, from sub-specialists to primary care, so that knowledge translation tools and programs can be applied at point-of-care. 

Additionally, we publish the trio of Canadian cardiovascular journals that promote research and leadership across all dimensions of cardiovascular care nationally and offer reach to other countries who can learn from and contribute to cardiovascular practice and policy in Canada.

Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

We are the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons-accredited provider organization for Canadian cardiovascular education and the leading national source of CPD for the cardiovascular professional community. Through the CCS Academy, we offer programs that prepare cardiovascular trainees for the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada standard to become the future of the profession. The CCS also hosts the largest annual cardiovascular medical meeting in Canada, the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress, which welcomes thousands of delegates each year.

Advocacy, Policy and Research

The CCS contributes on a national level to topics of importance to the Canadian cardiovascular community, such as wait times for care, the impacts of climate change and COVID-19 vaccines on heart health, and more. We ensure that every CCS Affiliate with an interest or specialized expertise in an advocacy initiative is included in advocacy activities, and we put Canadian cardiovascular research, treatment, and advancements on the map internationally through the support of our members.

The CCS proudly represents Canada on a global scale with the European Society of Cardiology, the American College of Cardiology, the Interamerican Society of Cardiology, and other international organizations.

Partnerships

We connect stakeholders with interests in cardiovascular health and care and highlight the important role they each play in patient care, both individually and together. The Canadian Alliance of Cardiovascular Centres, initiated by the CCS, brings leading institutions together to learn, collaborate, and streamline processes to share innovation at various levels of the cardiovascular healthcare system.

“My top goal as CCS President is to sustain the cardiovascular community with a culture of teamwork. My plan includes strong engagement with early-career members, and support for the efforts of our Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Committee, which is committed to ensuring that people from every community, including racialized and marginalized ones, are part of the CCS family.” — Dr. Michelle Graham, President, Canadian Cardiovascular Society
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