Friends, parks and brain wiring predict whether people exercise after a cardiovascular diagnosis
Findings could help tailor interventions to encourage physical activity in older people with heart and blood flow conditions
A diagnosis is often a cue for people to change the way they live. For people diagnosed with cardiovascular conditions such as heart disease or diabetes, it is often a motivator to get more physical exercise, which can improve long-term health. However, the rate of physical activity increase after diagnosis varies widely depending on the individual.
A new study from The Neuro (Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital) at McGill University sheds light on why. To understand what drives changes in physical activity after such a diagnosis, scientists performed machine learning analyses on data from 295 adults over 60 years included in the UK Biobank who had been diagnosed with diseases of the heart and blood vessels. These data included brain scans and answers to health surveys and social background questionnaires.
The researchers found that people who increased their physical activity levels long-term after diagnosis tended to have greater access to greenspace and social support than those who got less exercise, factors that make it easier to sustain healthy habits.
Brain imaging revealed another piece of the puzzle. At a neurological level, the researchers found people with increased brain connectivity between the right superior frontal gyrus and both the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and the precuneus showed greater physical activity.
They also found that exercise improved cognitive performance. Those who were more physically active scored higher on working memory, executive function and problem-solving tasks.
“Our results show that while people with a cardiovascular diagnosis benefit neurologically from physical activity, factors from an individual’s context influence whether they actually engage in meaningful change,” says Dr. Maiya Geddes, a clinician-researcher at The Neuro and the paper’s senior author. “Social determinants and brain wiring play a role. In future, novel brain markers may help doctors determine people’s willingness to change exercise habits, and brain circuits might be targeted with neurostimulation or other strategies to encourage behaviour change.”
“The more we know about factors that influence positive behaviour change, the better we can help patients move to healthier lifestyles,” says Naga Thovinakere, a PhD candidate at The Neuro and the study’s first author.
Their results were published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Nexus Oct. 21, 2025. The study was funded by the Canada Brain Research Fund (CBRF), the Government of Canada (through Health Canada) and Brain Canada Foundation, in collaboration with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), and a Brain Canada Future Leaders Award.
About The Neuro
The Neuro – The Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital – is a bilingual, world-leading destination for brain research and advanced patient care. Since its founding in 1934 by renowned neurosurgeon Dr. Wilder Penfield, it has grown to be the largest specialized neuroscience research and clinical center in Canada, and one of the largest in the world. The seamless integration of research, patient care, and training of the world’s top minds make The Neuro uniquely positioned to have a significant impact on the understanding and treatment of nervous system disorders. It was the first academic institute in the world to fully adopt Open Science, to help accelerate the generation of knowledge and discovery of novel effective treatments for brain disorders. The Neuro is a McGill University research and teaching institute and part of the Neuroscience Mission of the McGill University Health Centre. For more information, please visit www.theneuro.ca
