Sendai City, Tohoku University and the Novartis Foundation will work together to strengthen cardiovascular health through data-driven approaches and collaboration across healthcare, workplaces and communities.
Sendai City has become the first city in Japan to join CARDIO4Cities, an approach developed by the Novartis Foundation together with cities and health partners to improve cardiovascular health at the population level.
At a launch event in Sendai on November 2, 2026, representatives of Sendai City, Tohoku University and the Novartis Foundation announced their collaboration to advance a city-wide initiative aimed at reducing cardiovascular risk and supporting healthier lives for Sendai’s residents.
With Japan’s aging population, helping people live not only longer but healthier lives is an important priority. Sendai is building on its existing commitment to healthy life expectancy, together with Tohoku University’s scientific expertise, to address cardiovascular health challenges through locally adapted approaches.
The collaboration will initially focus on hypertension and hypercholesterolemia, a leading risk factor for heart attacks and strokes. By combining local health data with evidence-based interventions, the partners aim to strengthen early detection and management of cardiovascular risk.
Planned activities will focus on using data to identify local health challenges, improving cardiovascular health in workplaces and communities, and strengthening collaboration among healthcare providers.
Sendai City
We expect that our collaboration with Tohoku University and the Novartis Foundation will further strengthen Sendai City’s efforts to extend healthy life expectancy. Through this initiative, we aim to prevent cardiovascular disease, reduce health disparities, and create a city where everyone can live a healthy and fulfilling life.
Sendai City
This collaboration is highly significant for Tohoku University. As a University for International Research Excellence, it provides an important opportunity to further strengthen our world-class research foundation by addressing regional challenges and creating meaningful benefits for Sendai City and society.
Tohoku University is committed to contributing its expertise and knowledge to ensure the success of this initiative.
Sendai City will lead local implementation and stakeholder coordination, while Tohoku University will contribute scientific expertise, data analysis and evaluation. The Novartis Foundation will share its international CARDIO4Cities experience and provide technical and financial support.
Since its introduction in São Paulo, Dakar and Ulaanbaatar in 2018, CARDIO4Cities has expanded to more than 40 cities worldwide. In the first three cities, improved hypertension control was associated with estimated reductions of up to 12% in heart attacks and 13% in strokes, demonstrating the potential of coordinated, city-wide action.
What makes Sendai such a promising partner is the combination of visionary local leadership, scientific expertise and a shared commitment to improving cardiovascular health. Through CARDIO4Cities, we want to build on these strengths to turn data and evidence into practical action that helps people live healthier lives. We hope the experience in Sendai will provide valuable lessons for other cities in Japan and beyond.
The partners will now translate the collaboration into practical interventions tailored to Sendai’s needs, with the ambition of generating insights that can help improve cardiovascular health for more cities across Japan.