OTTAWA, February 26, 2026 — Researchers at the Ottawa Heart Institute have led an innovative study that examines the experience of parenting while navigating an early-onset cardiovascular condition. As heart disease in younger populations continues to rise globally, the study addresses a critical gap in cardiac research by exploring how parents manage their own recovery while caring for young children. The findings are published in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology.
“Managing a chronic illness is difficult enough, but it can be even more stressful if you are a parent to younger children,” said lead investigator Karen Bouchard, PhD, OCT, an associate scientist at the Ottawa Heart Institute. “The 32 participants in our study spoke about the uncertainty of how to talk with their children about their condition, the physical and emotional strain affecting daily parenting, and concerns about their children’s emotional, social, and physical adjustment. These concerns often persisted well beyond the medical event, procedure, or their diagnosis.”
Using focus groups, the research identified three central areas of concern for parents with early-onset cardiovascular disease: communicating a cardiac event or diagnosis to children, fulfilling parenting roles amid physical and emotional limitations, and supporting children’s emotional well-being while considering inherited cardiovascular risk.
“In the focus groups, many parents were still quite emotional when speaking about how their condition affected their children,” said co-lead investigator Heather Tulloch, PhD, CPsych, a clinical, health, and rehabilitation psychologist and scientist at the Ottawa Heart Institute. “It is not surprising that parents want more support from healthcare providers in navigating their illness as a parent, particularly how to communicate with their children about what happened or what to expect.”
In response to these identified needs, the Ottawa Heart Institute has also developed a patient education guide in collaboration with parents and guardians with lived experience. The guide is designed to support conversations about heart disease with children and youth, and includes practical tips for starting and navigating discussions, age-appropriate communication strategies, and a glossary of child-friendly terms. By pairing new research insights with accessible educational resources, the Heart Institute aims to better equip families facing early-onset cardiovascular disease.
While based on a regionally specific sample, the study points to a growing need for cardiac care programs to better recognize the realities of parenting, as more younger adults are diagnosed with cardiovascular disease while raising families.
The authors said the findings underscore the importance of helping parents communicate with their children about illness in age-appropriate ways and signal an urgent need for further research to guide more family-centred heart care.
For more information
Read Parenting Under Pressure: The Hidden Burdens of Early-Onset Cardiovascular Disease in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology.
For information about how to discuss a heart condition with children and youth, download the patient guide developed by the Ottawa Heart Institute.
To schedule an interview with the study authors, please contact the media liaison below.
Media contact
Leigh B. Morris
Communications Officer
University of Ottawa Heart Institute
613-316-6409 (cell)
lmorris@ottawaheart.ca