The Johansen Lab focuses on understanding the relationship between brain and heart health, specifically with the focus of investigating the association between cardiac structure and function, and causes of ischemic stroke, particularly when the cause of the stroke is unknown. We also desire to understand how measures of cardiac subclinical, or clinical disease states, impacts cognition, also referred to as vascular contributions to cognitive impairment. We aim to enhance understanding of the heart-brain connection so that ultimately clinicians can 1) diagnose stroke subtype earlier and more accurately, and 2) inform patients with specific cardiac biomarkers or disease states how it might impact cognition over time. There are many ongoing research efforts in the lab to include NIH funded research focused on examining the association between left atrial function and structure among patients with acute ischemic stroke, NIH funded research determining the association between atrial fibrillation and Alzheimer’s disease pathology in patients with cardiovascular risk factors, and other collaborative efforts with large epidemiologic cohort studies and the Bloomberg School of Public Health.