Cardiovascular Health
“One in four deaths in the United States is attributed to heart disease. Our researchers study how behavior, environment, and genetics affect heart health and how screening and treatment can reduce risk.”
Research overview
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for Americans. Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute (KPWHRI) scientists are working to understand how to reduce our risk of heart attacks, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases throughout life.
Addressing risk factors, improving diagnosis, and exploring how medications, genes, and everyday life affect our cardiovascular health at different ages and stages are central to this work — as is translating research findings into practical, personalized care.
“We’ve found that helping patients and health care teams work together on personalized care plans is the best path to lifelong heart health,” says Beverly Green, MD, MPH, whose recent work has focused on improving the diagnosis of high blood pressure.
Additional focus areas for KPWHRI scientists include exploring the impact of cardiovascular diseases on other health conditions — and vice versa. Recently, this has led researchers Sascha Dublin, MD, PhD, and Laura B. Harrington, PhD, MPH, to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular health.
Below are other research highlights from KPWHRI’s cardiovascular health scientists (please visit their bios to learn more):
- In 2016 Dr. Green, a senior investigator, launched the BP-CHECK study, which aims to find the easiest, most accurate way to diagnose high blood pressure. With a $2.8 million award from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), the study compares blood pressure readings taken in clinic, at home, and at validated blood pressure kiosks to the 24-hour blood pressure test that is currently considered the gold standard for diagnosing hypertension.
- Dr. Dublin, a senior investigator, explores many different facets of cardiovascular disease in her work, including risk factors for atrial fibrillation, the effect of medications on cardiovascular disease, and the relationship between cardiovascular disease and other conditions, such as dementia. Managing cardiovascular risk factors in pregnancy — such as high blood pressure and diabetes — is a particular interest.
- Dr. Harrington, an assistant investigator, is a cardiovascular epidemiologist whose research aims to improve understanding of modifiable cardiovascular risk factors, particularly among older women. Currently, she is leading a study exploring the relationship between physical activity, sedentary behavior, and the risk of venous thromboembolism (blood clots that form predominantly in the veins of the legs or lungs). In addition to this work, Dr. Harrington conducts research in the areas of recurrent cardiovascular event risk, cardiovascular health in relation to cognitive decline and dementia risk in later life, and pharmacologic exposures in relation to cardiovascular event risk, with a particular focus on risk factors for venous thromboembolism.
- Senior Investigator Michael L. Parchman, MD, MPH, focuses on implementing evidence-based cardiovascular disease care into primary care settings. He led the 4-year Healthy Hearts Northwest trial, an EvidenceNOW initiative that helped smaller primary care practices in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho adopt evidence-based approaches to improving cardiovascular care outcomes. The trial continues to produce findings of importance.
- The work of Ellen O'Meara, PhD, a senior research associate, centers on the epidemiology of common and important health conditions in the United States, including cardiovascular disease. Her collaborative research has included studies exploring the risk factors and outcomes of heart disease and stroke. Recent work includes research on quality improvement aimed at controlling hypertension at small primary care practices.
Recent publications on Cardiovascular Health
Postmus I, Trompet S, Deshmukh HA, Barnes MR, Li X, Warren HR, Chasman DI, Zhou K, Arsenault BJ, Donnelly LA, Wiggins KL, Avery CL, Griffin P, Feng Q, Taylor KD, Li G, Evans DS, Smith AV, de Keyser CE, Johnson AD, de Craen AJ, Stott DJ, Buckley BM, Ford I, Westendorp RG, Eline Slagboom P, Sattar N, Munroe PB, Sever P, Poulter N, Stanton A, Shields DC, O'Brien E, Shaw-Hawkins S, Ida Chen YD, Nickerson DA, Smith JD, Pierre Dubé M, Matthijs Boekholdt S, Kees Hovingh G, Kastelein JJ, McKeigue PM, Betteridge J, Neil A, Durrington PN, Doney A, Carr F, Morris A, McCarthy MI, Groop L, Ahlqvist E; Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium, Bis JC, Rice K, Smith NL, Lumley T, Whitsel EA, Stürmer T, Boerwinkle E, Ngwa JS, O'Donnell CJ, Vasan RS, Wei WQ, Wilke RA, Liu CT, Sun F, Guo X, Heckbert SR, Post W, Sotoodehnia N, Arnold AM, Stafford JM, Ding J, Herrington DM, Kritchevsky SB, Eiriksdottir G, Launer LJ, Harris TB, Chu AY, Giulianini F, MacFadyen JG, Barratt BJ, Nyberg F, Stricker BH, Uitterlinden AG, Hofman A, Rivadeneira F, Emilsson V, Franco OH, Ridker PM, Gudnason V, Liu Y, Denny JC, Ballantyne CM, Rotter JI, Adrienne Cupples L, Psaty BM, Palmer CN, Tardif JC, Colhoun HM, Hitman G, Krauss RM, Wouter Jukema J, Caulfield MJ; Membership of Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium; Data and Analysis Group; DNA, Genotyping, Data QC and Informatics Group; Publications Committee; Membership of Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium; Data and Analysis Group; DNA Genotyping Data QC and Informatics Group; Publications Committee. Pharmacogenetic meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies of LDL cholesterol response to statins. Nat Commun. 2014 Oct 28;5:5068. doi: 10.1038/ncomms6068. PubMed
O'Neal WT, Efird JT, Nazarian S, Alonso A, Heckbert SR, Soliman EZ. Peripheral arterial disease and risk of atrial fibrillation and stroke: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. J Am Heart Assoc. 2014 Nov 17;3(6). pii: e001270. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.114.001270. PubMed
Ganesh SK, Arnett DK, Assimes TL, Basson CT, Chakravarti A, Ellinor PT, Engler MB, Goldmuntz E, Herrington DM, Hershberger RE, Hong Y, Johnson JA, Kittner SJ, McDermott DA, Meschia JF, Mestroni L, O'Donnell CJ, Psaty BM, Vasan RS, Ruel M, Shen WK, Terzic A, Waldman SA; on behalf of the American Heart Association Council on Functional Genomics and Translational Biology, Council on Epidemiology and Prevention, Council on Basic Cardiovascular Sciences, Council on Cardiovascular Disease in the Young, Council on Cardiovascular Surgery and Anesthesia, Council on Clinical Cardiology, Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing, and Stroke Council. Genetics and genomics for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease: update: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2013 Dec 24;128(25):2813-51. doi: 10.1161/01.cir.0000437913.98912.1d. Epub 2013 Dec 2. PubMed
Dewland TA, Vittinghoff E, Mandyam MC, Heckbert SR, Siscovick DS, Stein PK, Psaty BM, Sotoodehnia N, Gottdiener JS, Marcus GM. Atrial ectopy as a predictor of incident atrial fibrillation: a cohort study. Ann Intern Med. 2013;159(11):721-8. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-159-11-201312030-00004. PubMed
Global Lipids Genetics Consortium, Willer CJ, Schmidt EM, Sengupta S, Peloso GM, Gustafsson S, Kanoni S, Ganna A, Chen J, Buchkovich ML, Mora S, Beckmann JS, Bragg-Gresham JL, Chang HY, Demirkan A, Den Hertog HM, Do R, Donnelly LA, Ehret GB, Esko T, Feitosa MF, Ferreira T, Fischer K, Fontanillas P, Fraser RM, Freitag DF, Gurdasani D, Heikkilä K, Hyppönen E, Isaacs A, Jackson AU, Johansson A, Johnson T, Kaakinen M, Kettunen J, Kleber ME, Li X, Luan J, Lyytikäinen LP, Magnusson PK, Mangino M, Mihailov E, Montasser ME, Müller-Nurasyid M, Nolte IM, O'Connell JR, Palmer CD, Perola M, Petersen AK, Sanna S, Saxena R, Service SK, Shah S, Shungin D, Sidore C, Song C, Strawbridge RJ, Surakka I, Tanaka T, Teslovich TM, Thorleifsson G, Van den Herik EG, Voight BF, Volcik KA, Waite LL, Wong A, Wu Y, Zhang W, Absher D, Asiki G, Barroso I, Been LF, Bolton JL, Bonnycastle LL, Brambilla P, Burnett MS, Cesana G, Dimitriou M, Doney AS, Döring A, Elliott P, Epstein SE, Eyjolfsson GI, Gigante B, Goodarzi MO, Grallert H, Gravito ML, Groves CJ, Hallmans G, Hartikainen AL, Hayward C, Hernandez D, Hicks AA, Holm H, Hung YJ, Illig T, Jones MR, Kaleebu P, Kastelein JJ, Khaw KT, Kim E, Klopp N, Komulainen P, Kumari M, Langenberg C, Lehtimäki T, Lin SY, Lindström J, Loos RJ, Mach F, McArdle WL, Meisinger C, Mitchell BD, Müller G, Nagaraja R, Narisu N, Nieminen TV, Nsubuga RN, Olafsson I, Ong KK, Palotie A, Papamarkou T, Pomilla C, Pouta A, Rader DJ, Reilly MP, Ridker PM, Rivadeneira F, Rudan I, Ruokonen A, Samani N, Scharnagl H, Seeley J, Silander K, Stancáková A, Stirrups K, Swift AJ, Tiret L, Uitterlinden AG, van Pelt LJ, Vedantam S, Wainwright N, Wijmenga C, Wild SH, Willemsen G, Wilsgaard T, Wilson JF, Young EH, Zhao JH, Adair LS, Arveiler D, Assimes TL, Bandinelli S, Bennett F, Bochud M, Boehm BO, Boomsma DI, Borecki IB, Bornstein SR, Bovet P, Burnier M, Campbell H, Chakravarti A, Chambers JC, Chen YD, Collins FS, Cooper RS, Danesh J, Dedoussis G, de Faire U, Feranil AB, Ferrières J, Ferrucci L, Freimer NB, Gieger C, Groop LC, Gudnason V, Gyllensten U, Hamsten A, Harris TB, Hingorani A, Hirschhorn JN, Hofman A, Hovingh GK, Hsiung CA, Humphries SE, Hunt SC, Hveem K, Iribarren C, Järvelin MR, Jula A, Kähönen M, Kaprio J, Kesäniemi A, Kivimaki M, Kooner JS, Koudstaal PJ, Krauss RM, Kuh D, Kuusisto J, Kyvik KO, Laakso M, Lakka TA, Lind L, Lindgren CM, Martin NG, März W, McCarthy MI, McKenzie CA, Meneton P, Metspalu A, Moilanen L, Morris AD, Munroe PB, Njølstad I, Pedersen NL, Power C, Pramstaller PP, Price JF, Psaty BM, Quertermous T, Rauramaa R, Saleheen D, Salomaa V, Sanghera DK, Saramies J, Schwarz PE, Sheu WH, Shuldiner AR, Siegbahn A, Spector TD, Stefansson K, Strachan DP, Tayo BO, Tremoli E, Tuomilehto J, Uusitupa M, van Duijn CM, Vollenweider P, Wallentin L, Wareham NJ, Whitfield JB, Wolffenbuttel BH, Ordovas JM, Boerwinkle E, Palmer CN, Thorsteinsdottir U, Chasman DI, Rotter JI, Franks PW, Ripatti S, Cupples LA, Sandhu MS, Rich SS, Boehnke M, Deloukas P, Kathiresan S, Mohlke KL, Ingelsson E, Abecasis GR. Discovery and refinement of loci associated with lipid levels. Nat Genet. 2013 Nov;45(11):1274-83. doi: 10.1038/ng.2797. Epub 2013 Oct 6. PubMed
Researchers in Cardiovascular Health
 Sascha Dublin, MD, PhDSenior Investigator |
 Beverly B. Green, MD, MPHSenior Investigator |
 Laura Harrington, PhD, MPHAssociate Investigator |
 Ellen O'Meara, PhDPrincipal Collaborative Scientist |
 Nicole M. Gatto, PhD, MPHPrincipal Collaborative Scientist |
 Meagan C. Brown, PhD, MPHAssistant Investigator |
Affiliate researchers
James Floyd, MD, MS
Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology
University of Washington
Susan Heckbert, MD, PhD
University of Washington (UW) Department of Epidemiology; UW Cardiovascular Health Research Unit
Nicholas L. Smith, PhD, MPH
UW Professor, Epidemiology, Cardiovascular Health Research Unit
Director, Seattle Epidemiology and Information Resource Center, VA Puget Sound Health Care System
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