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Cardiovascular and kidney health are closely linked. Individuals with kidney disease are far more likely to develop cardiovascular disease. In fact, heart disease is the most common cause of death among people who have kidney disease. 

Managing kidney and cardiovascular health can be challenging, but for the last several years, Libin Cardiovascular Institute members Drs. Meghan Elliot, MD, and Mo Donald, PhD, have worked to make the task easier. 

They are part of a team that developed , a website with practical tips for managing chronic kidney disease (CKD) and preventing further progression of the disease and the development of cardiovascular disease. They also developed , a tool built for patients and their care team to facilitate shared decision-making. 

Now, thanks to the P2 Indigenous Seed Grant, the team is starting the process of building a tool specifically made for Canada’s Indigenous community. 

“We heard feedback from our Indigenous partners that our tools may not be relevant and accessible to the Indigenous community, particularly for those living in rural areas,” says Elliot. “We realized that we need to take a step back and start over to create tools that will support their needs.” 

Elliot, a kidney specialist and associate professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences at the Cumming School of Medicine, says the team has already developed connections within the Indigenous community. The seed funding will allow researchers to start phase one of the project, which focuses on community engagement and consultation.

According to Elliot, Indigenous communities face medical and health disparities, and Indigenous individuals have much higher rates of cardiovascular and kidney disease than the non-Indigenous community. 

Those disparities make this an important project.

“We know that prevention is the best approach, but currently we don’t know how kidney health fits in with the health priorities of the Indigenous community, or the community’s approach to health,” says Elliot. “We need to be as inclusive as possible with our public health tools to improve equality in patient outcomes.” 

The  at the Libin Cardiovascular Institute focuses on exposing and addressing cardiovascular health inequities in Alberta and beyond. The P2 Initiative Seed Grants are the first of their kind at the Libin Cardiovascular Institute.