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
Ganesh SK, Tragante V, Guo W, Guo Y, Lanktree MB, Smith EN, Johnson T, Castillo BA, Barnard J, Baumert J, Chang YP, Elbers CC, Farrall M, Fischer ME, Franceschini N, Gaunt TR, Gho JM, Gieger C, Gong Y, Isaacs A, Kleber ME, Leach IM, McDonough CW, Meijs MF, Mellander O, Molony CM, Nolte IM, Padmanabhan S, Price TS, Rajagopalan R, Shaffer J, Shah S, Shen H, Soranzo N, van der Most PJ, Van Iperen EP, van Setten J, Vonk JM, Zhang L, Beitelshees AL, Berenson GS, Bhatt DL, Boer JM, Boerwinkle E, Burkley B, Burt A, Chakravarti A, Chen W, Cooper-Dehoff RM, Curtis SP, Dreisbach A, Duggan D, Ehret GB, Fabsitz RR, Fornage M, Fox E, Furlong CE, Gansevoort RT, Hofker MH, Hovingh GK, Kirkland SA, Kottke-Marchant K, Kutlar A, LaCroix AZ, Langaee TY, Li YR, Lin H, Liu K, Maiwald S, Malik R; METASTROKE, Murugesan G, Newton-Cheh C, O'Connell JR, Onland-Moret NC, Ouwehand WH, Palmas W, Penninx BW, Pepine CJ, Pettinger M, Polak JF, Ramachandran VS, Ranchalis J, Redline S, Ridker PM, Rose LM, Scharnag H, Schork NJ, Shimbo D, Shuldiner AR, Srinivasan SR, Stolk RP, Taylor HA, Thorand B, Trip MD, van Duijn CM, Verschuren WM, Wijmenga C, Winkelmann BR, Wyatt S, Young JH, Boehm BO, Caulfield MJ, Chasman DI, Davidson KW, Doevendans PA, Fitzgerald GA, Gums JG, Hakonarson H, Hillege HL, Illig T, Jarvik GP, Johnson JA, Kastelein JJ, Koenig W; LifeLines Cohort Study, März W, Mitchell BD, Murray SS, Oldehinkel AJ, Rader DJ, Reilly MP, Reiner AP, Schadt EE, Silverstein RL, Snieder H, Stanton AV, Uitterlinden AG, van der Harst P, van der Schouw YT, Samani NJ, Johnson AD, Munroe PB, de Bakker PI, Zhu X, Levy D, Keating BJ, Asselbergs FW. Loci influencing blood pressure identified using a cardiovascular gene-centric array. Hum Mol Genet. 2013 Apr 15;22(8):1663-78. doi: 10.1093/hmg/dds555. Epub 2013 Jan 8. PubMed
den Hoed M, Eijgelsheim M, Esko T, Brundel BJ, Peal DS, Evans DM, Nolte IM, Segrè AV, Holm H, Handsaker RE, Westra HJ, Johnson T, Isaacs A, Yang J, Lundby A, Zhao JH, Kim YJ, Go MJ, Almgren P, Bochud M, Boucher G, Cornelis MC, Gudbjartsson D, Hadley D, van der Harst P, Hayward C, den Heijer M, Igl W, Jackson AU, Kutalik Z, Luan J, Kemp JP, Kristiansson K, Ladenvall C, Lorentzon M, Montasser ME, Njajou OT, O'Reilly PF, Padmanabhan S, St Pourcain B, Rankinen T, Salo P, Tanaka T, Timpson NJ, Vitart V, Waite L, Wheeler W, Zhang W, Draisma HH, Feitosa MF, Kerr KF, Lind PA, Mihailov E, Onland-Moret NC, Song C, Weedon MN, Xie W, Yengo L, Absher D, Albert CM, Alonso A, Arking DE, de Bakker PI, Balkau B, Barlassina C, Benaglio P, Bis JC, Bouatia-Naji N, Brage S, Chanock SJ, Chines PS, Chung M, Darbar D, Dina C, Dörr M, Elliott P, Felix SB, Fischer K, Fuchsberger C, de Geus EJ, Goyette P, Gudnason V, Harris TB, Hartikainen AL, Havulinna AS, Heckbert SR, Hicks AA, Hofman A, Holewijn S, Hoogstra-Berends F, Hottenga JJ, Jensen MK, Johansson A, Junttila J, Kääb S, Kanon B, Ketkar S, Khaw KT, Knowles JW, Kooner AS, Kors JA, Kumari M, Milani L, Laiho P, Lakatta EG, Langenberg C, Leusink M, Liu Y, Luben RN, Lunetta KL, Lynch SN, Markus MR, Marques-Vidal P, Leach IM, McArdle WL, McCarroll SA, Medland SE, Miller KA, Montgomery GW, Morrison AC, M Vuml Ller-Nurasyid M, Navarro P, Nelis M, O'Connell JR, O'Donnell CJ, Ong KK, Newman AB, Peters A, Polasek O, Pouta A, Pramstaller PP, Psaty BM, Rao DC, Ring SM, Rossin EJ, Rudan D, Sanna S, Scott RA, Sehmi JS, Sharp S, Shin JT, Singleton AB, Smith AV, Soranzo N, Spector TD, Stewart C, Stringham HM, Tarasov KV, Uitterlinden AG, Vandenput L, Hwang SJ, Whitfield JB, Wijmenga C, Wild SH, Willemsen G, Wilson JF, Witteman JC, Wong A, Wong Q, Jamshidi Y, Zitting P, Boer JM, Boomsma DI, Borecki IB, van Duijn CM, Ekelund U, Forouhi NG, Froguel P, Hingorani A, Ingelsson E, Kivimaki M, Kronmal RA, Kuh D, Lind L, Martin NG, Oostra BA, Pedersen NL, Quertermous T, Rotter JI, van der Schouw YT, Verschuren WM, Walker M, Albanes D, Arnar DO, Assimes TL, Bandinelli S, Boehnke M, de Boer RA, Bouchard C, Caulfield WL, Chambers JC, Curhan G, Cusi D, Eriksson J, Ferrucci L, van Gilst WH, Glorioso N, de Graaf J, Groop L, Gyllensten U, Hsueh WC, Hu FB, Huikuri HV, Hunter DJ, Iribarren C, Isomaa B, Jarvelin MR, Jula A, Kähönen M, Kiemeney LA, van der Klauw MM, Kooner JS, Kraft P, Iacoviello L, Lehtimäki T, Lokki ML, Mitchell BD, Navis G, Nieminen MS, Ohlsson C, Poulter NR, Qi L, Raitakari OT, Rimm EB, Rioux JD, Rizzi F, Rudan I, Salomaa V, Sever PS, Shields DC, Shuldiner AR, Sinisalo J, Stanton AV, Stolk RP, Strachan DP, Tardif JC, Thorsteinsdottir U, Tuomilehto J, van Veldhuisen DJ, Virtamo J, Viikari J, Vollenweider P, Waeber G, Widen E, Cho YS, Olsen JV, Visscher PM, Willer C, Franke L; Global BPgen Consortium; CARDIoGRAM Consortium, Erdmann J, Thompson JR; PR GWAS Consortium, Pfeufer A; QRS GWAS Consortium, Sotoodehnia N; QT-IGC Consortium, Newton-Cheh C; CHARGE-AF Consortium, Ellinor PT, Stricker BH, Metspalu A, Perola M, Beckmann JS, Smith GD, Stefansson K, Wareham NJ, Munroe PB, Sibon OC, Milan DJ, Snieder H, Samani NJ, Loos RJ. Identification of heart rate-associated loci and their effects on cardiac conduction and rhythm disorders. Nat Genet. 2013 Apr 14;45(6):621-31. doi: 10.1038/ng.2610. Epub 2013 Apr 14. PubMed
Ritchie MD, Denny JC, Zuvich RL, Crawford DC, Schildcrout JS, Bastarache L, Ramirez AH, Mosely JD, Pulley JM, Basford MA, Bradford Y, Rasmussen LV, Pathak J, Chute CG, Kullo IJ, McCarty CA, Chisholm RL, Kho AN, Carlson CS, Larson EB, Jarvik GP, Sotoodehnia N, Manolio TA, Li R, Masys DR, Haines JL, Roden DM. Genome- and phenome-wide analysis of cardiac conduction identifies markers of arrhythmia risk. Circulation. 2013 Apr 2;127(13):1377-85. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.112.000604. Epub 2013 Mar 5. PubMed
Wu JH, Lemaitre RN, Manichaikul A, Guan W, Tanaka T, Foy M, Kabagambe EK, Djousse L, Siscovick D, Fretts AM, Johnson C, King IB, Psaty BM, McKnight B, Rich SS, Chen YD, Nettleton JA, Tang W, Bandinelli S, Jacobs DR Jr, Browning BL, Laurie CC, Gu X, Tsai MY, Steffen LM, Ferrucci L, Fornage M, Mozaffarian D. Genome-wide association study identifies novel loci associated with concentrations of four plasma phospholipid fatty acids in the de novo lipogenesis pathway: results from the CHARGE consortium. Circ Cardiovasc Genet. 2013 Apr;6(2):171-83. doi: 10.1161/CIRCGENETICS.112.964619. Epub 2013 Jan 29. PubMed
Shimbo D, Shea S, McClelland RL, Viera AJ, Mann D, Newman J, Lima J, Polak JF, Psaty BM, Muntner P. Associations of aortic distensibility and arterial elasticity with long-term visit-to-visit blood pressure variability: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). Am J Hypertens. 2013 Jul;26(7):896-902. doi: 10.1093/ajh/hpt040. Epub 2013 Mar 28. PubMed
Researchers in Cardiovascular Health
 Sascha Dublin, MD, PhDSenior Investigator |
 Beverly B. Green, MD, MPHSenior Investigator |
 Laura Harrington, PhD, MPHAssistant 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
Research
Study finds bariatric surgery linked to substantially lower risk of blood clots long-term
Largest study to date helps patients weigh risks and benefits of surgery.
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Measuring blood pressure at home: It's easy and accurate
Bev Green, doctor and scientist, has tips for monitoring your blood pressure without leaving your house.
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New grant boosts research on cardiovascular disease
Epidemiologist Laura B. Harrington, PhD, MPH, speaks about working in cardiovascular and aging research.
Research to practice
Home blood pressure monitoring: From study to clinic
Beverly Green, MD, and Kaiser Permanente work to improve hypertension care.
Research
Is blood pressure reading better at home or clinic?
Home blood pressure monitoring shown to be an excellent alternative for making new diagnoses of hypertension.
New findings
There’s no place like home … to track blood pressure
Research led by KPWHRI’s Beverly Green, MD, MPH, finds that patients prefer at-home monitoring of blood pressure.
Research
CVD risk calculation: Can smaller clinics break through?
KPWHRI researchers uncover obstacles faced by smaller practices when adding CVD risk calculators into primary care.
KPWHRI in the media
Understanding high blood pressure
Hypertension headache: Medical myth or true health concern?
AARP, June 3, 2024
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