Guideline Development

2019 Call for CCS Guideline and Position Statement Topics

The CCS Guidelines Committee is seeking member input to determine guideline and position statement topics for development in 2019 – 2020. You must be a CCS member to submit a topic and work on the statement cannot already be initiated.

You may submit a topic suggestion by emailing your submission to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.by Wednesday, April 3^rd, 2019.

Please include the following details:

Your contact information
Title and focus of the guideline/statement
Rationale for developing a statement on this topic now
Any other information you feel is relevant
Include any suggestions for co-chairs or contributing authors
If this is an endorsed topic submission from a recognized CCS Affiliate, please identify the endorsing CCS Affiliate

Your guidance will allow us to continue providing guidelines and position statements that are highly relevant to our membership. We look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

M. Sean McMurtry, MD, PhD, FRCPC

Chair, CCS Guidelines Committee

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Note: All CCS published guidelines and position statements are listed in the Guidelines Library. Guidelines and position statements currently under development are listed below.

CCS Guideline Development Process

The CCS is committed to developing statements that high quality and transparent. In addition to the CCS specific procedures and policies, CCS follows the AGREE II Instrument as an overarching methodology to guide development. In addition, the CCS has adopted the GRADE Scale for rating the strength of recommendations and the quality of evidence. The following documents describe for co-chairs, panel members, members and CCS staff the policies and procedures for development of guidelines and position statements including special consideration of the “closed-loop” development programs for Heart failure and Atrial Fibrillation:

The CCS Guideline Development Policies and Procedures document addresses all policies and procedures related to the CCS development process including topic selection, panel selection, evidence review, defining and achieving consensus, statement format, approval process, CCC presentation and CJC publication for both guidelines and position statements.
To ensure high quality and transparency, the CCS strongly suggests all guideline and position statement developers use the international AGREE II Instrument as a tool for guiding development and assessing the quality and methodological transparency of guidelines. For a copy of the AGREE II Instrument and background information on AGREE II, please visit www.agreetrust.org
To ensure high quality and transparency, the CCS has adopted the GRADE Scale for rating the strength of recommendations and the quality of evidence. As of January 2010, the CCS uses the GRADE system of evidence assessment for all guidelines and position statements. In June 2015, CCS developed a CCS Grade framework to guide co-chairs and writing panels through the systematic review of evidence and the application of GRADE when developing recommendations. It is meant to be used as a framework to a more rigorous application of GRADE and is presented in five high level steps with examples for documentation that can be adapted to suit the specific needs of the writing panel.

For more information on GRADE, please refer to the BMJ GRADE primer articles below:

Part 1 - GRADE: an emerging consensus on rating quality of evidence and strength of recommendations

Part 2 - GRADE: what is "quality of evidence" and why is it important to clinicians?

Part 3 - GRADE: going from evidence to recommendations

Part 4 - GRADE: grading quality of evidence and strength of recommendations for diagnostic tests and strategies

Part 5 - GRADE: Incorporating considerations of resources use into grading recommendations

Part 6 - Use of GRADE grid to reach decisions on clinical practice guidelines when consensus is elusive

Guidelines and Position Statements Currently Under Development

Guidelines and Position Statements Currently Under Development	Co-Chairs	Expected Completion
CCS/CTS Position Statement on Pulmonary Hypertension	L. Mielniczuk D. Langleben S. Mehta	Early 2019
CCS Position Statement for Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation	J. Webb A. Asgar M. Ouzounian	Early 2019
CCS Position Statement on the Investigation and Management of Orthostatic Hypotension and Postural Tachycardia Syndrome	S.R. Raj J. Guzman	October 2019
CCS/CSCS/CAIC/CanCare Position Statement on a Heart Team-based Approach to Percutaneous Mechanical Cardiac Support Devices in Cardiogenic Shock or High Risk Cardiac Interventions	H. Ly D. Freed	October 2019
CCS/CACHnet Guidelines for the Management of Adults with Congenital Heart Disease	A. Marielli C. Silversides	October 2019
CCS/CHRS Position Statement on the Management of Ventricular Tachycardia in Structural Heart Disease	M. Deyell J. Sapp	October 2019
CCS Guidelines for the Management of Dyslipidemia for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease in the Adult	G. Pearson G. Thanassoulis	October 2019
CCS/CCTN Position Statement on Heart Transplant Patient Eligibility, Selection, and Post-Transplant Care	B. Clarke S. Chih	October 2019
CCS Position Statement on Recent International Guidelines on the Assessment and Management of Syncope	R. Sandhuu B. Sheldon	October 2019
CCS/CanSCMR Update on Safety for Cardiovascular Patients Undergoing Magnetic Resonance Imaging	I. Paterson J. White	October 2019
CCS/CHFS Position Statement on the Evaluation and Management of Patients with Cardiac Amyloidosis	M. Davis N. Fine	October 2019
CCS/CSE Position Statement on Indications and Appropriate Use of Echocardiography in Canada	H. Leong-Poi L. Rudski	October 2020
CCS/CanCare/CNCS Position Statement on Neurologic Prognostication in the Post Cardiac Arrest Patient	C. Fordyce A. Kramer	October 2020