Cross-Disciplinary Cardiovascular and Psychiatric Recommendations: A Systematic Review of Clinical Guidelines.

In 30 seconds

This systematic review examined how American and European cardiology and psychiatric society guidelines published from 2013–2023 address the relationship between serious mental illness and cardiovascular disease. It included 26 guidelines: 13 cardiovascular and 13 psychiatric. Psychiatric considerations appeared in 5 cardiovascular guidelines (38%), whereas 10 psychiatric guidelines (77%) included cardiovascular recommendations. Cross-disciplinary content was more common in European than U.S. guidelines in both fields, indicating uneven integration of cardiovascular and psychiatric guidance.

Key findings

• Psychiatric considerations appeared in 5 cardiovascular guidelines (38%); only 13% of American versus 80% of European cardiovascular guidelines included psychiatric content.
• Ten psychiatric guidelines (77%) included cardiovascular recommendations; cardiovascular content appeared in 40% of U.S. and 100% of European psychiatric guidelines.
• Psychiatric guidelines addressed cardiovascular screening (n = 16), pharmacological considerations (n = 8), and risk factor control (n = 7).

Why it matters

People with serious mental illness experience disproportionately high cardiovascular risk and disease, yet the review found that guidance across the two disciplines is not consistently integrated. This gap may leave clinicians without coordinated recommendations spanning mental illness, cardiovascular risk assessment, medication considerations, and risk-factor management. The findings support attention to cross-disciplinary guidance while not establishing whether particular recommendations improve outcomes.

What to keep in mind

The review assessed guideline content, not the implementation of recommendations or their effects on cardiovascular outcomes.