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
Lindström S, Brody JA, Turman C, Germain M, Bartz TM, Smith EN, Chen MH, Puurunen M, Chasman D, Hassler J, Pankratz N, Basu S, Guan W, Gyorgy B, Ibrahim M, Empana JP, Olaso R, Jackson R, Braekkan SK, McKnight B, Deleuze JF, O'Donnell CJ, Jouven X, Frazer KA, Psaty BM, Wiggins KL, Taylor K, Reiner AP, Heckbert SR, Kooperberg C, Ridker P, Hansen JB, Tang W, Johnson AD, Morange PE, Trégouët DA, Kraft P, Smith NL, Kabrhel C, INVENT Consortium A large-scale exome array analysis of venous thromboembolism 2019 Jun;43(4):449-457. doi: 10.1002/gepi.22187. Epub 2019-01-19. PubMed
Flannick J, Mercader JM, Fuchsberger C, Udler MS, Mahajan A, Wessel J, Teslovich TM, Caulkins L, Koesterer R, Barajas-Olmos F, Blackwell TW, Boerwinkle E, Brody JA, Centeno-Cruz F, Chen L, Chen S, Contreras-Cubas C, Córdova E, Correa A, Cortes M, DeFronzo RA, Dolan L, Drews KL, Elliott A, Floyd JS, Gabriel S, Garay-Sevilla ME, García-Ortiz H, Gross M, Han S, Heard-Costa NL, Jackson AU, Jørgensen ME, Kang HM, Kelsey M, Kim BJ, Koistinen HA, Kuusisto J, Leader JB, Linneberg A, Liu CT, Liu J, Lyssenko V, Manning AK, Marcketta A, Malacara-Hernandez JM, Martínez-Hernández A, Matsuo K, Mayer-Davis E, Mendoza-Caamal E, Mohlke KL, Morrison AC, Ndungu A, Ng MCY, O'Dushlaine C, Payne AJ, Pihoker C, Broad Genomics Platform, Post WS, Preuss M, Psaty BM, Vasan RS, Rayner NW, Reiner AP, Revilla-Monsalve C, Robertson NR, Santoro N, Schurmann C, So WY, Soberón X, Stringham HM, Strom TM, Tam CHT, Thameem F, Tomlinson B, Torres JM, Tracy RP, van Dam RM, Vujkovic M, Wang S, Welch RP, Witte DR, Wong TY, Atzmon G, Barzilai N, Blangero J, Bonnycastle LL, Bowden DW, Chambers JC, Chan E, Cheng CY, Cho YS, Collins FS, de Vries PS, Duggirala R, Glaser B, Gonzalez C, Gonzalez ME, Groop L, Kooner JS, Kwak SH, Laakso M, Lehman DM, Nilsson P, Spector TD, Tai ES, Tuomi T, Tuomilehto J, Wilson JG, Aguilar-Salinas CA, Bottinger E, Burke B, Carey DJ, Chan JCN, Dupuis J, Frossard P, Heckbert SR, Hwang MY, Kim YJ, Kirchner HL, Lee JY, Lee J, Loos RJF, Ma RCW, Morris AD, O'Donnell CJ, Palmer CNA, Pankow J, Park KS, Rasheed A, Saleheen D, Sim X, Small KS, Teo YY, Haiman C, Hanis CL, Henderson BE, Orozco L, Tusié-Luna T, Dewey FE, Baras A, Gieger C, Meitinger T, Strauch K, Lange L, Grarup N, Hansen T, Pedersen O, Zeitler P, Dabelea D, Abecasis G, Bell GI, Cox NJ, Seielstad M, Sladek R, Meigs JB, Rich SS, Rotter JI, DiscovEHR Collaboration, CHARGE, LuCamp, ProDiGY, GoT2D, ESP, SIGMA-T2D, T2D-GENES, AMP-T2D-GENES, Altshuler D, Burtt NP, Scott LJ, Morris AP, Florez JC, McCarthy MI, Boehnke M Exome sequencing of 20,791 cases of type 2 diabetes and 24,440 controls 2019 Jun;570(7759):71-76. doi: 10.1038/s41586-019-1231-2. Epub 2019-05-22. PubMed
Marklund M, Wu JHY, Imamura F, Del Gobbo LC, Fretts A, de Goede J, Shi P, Tintle N, Wennberg M, Aslibekyan S, Chen TA, de Oliveira Otto MC, Hirakawa Y, Eriksen HH, Kröger J, Laguzzi F, Lankinen M, Murphy RA, Prem K, Samieri C, Virtanen J, Wood AC, Wong K, Yang WS, Zhou X, Baylin A, Boer JMA, Brouwer IA, Campos H, Chaves PHM, Chien KL, de Faire U, Djoussé L, Eiriksdottir G, El-Abbadi N, Forouhi NG, Michael Gaziano J, Geleijnse JM, Gigante B, Giles G, Guallar E, Gudnason V, Harris T, Harris WS, Helmer C, Hellenius ML, Hodge A, Hu FB, Jacques PF, Jansson JH, Kalsbeek A, Khaw KT, Koh WP, Laakso M, Leander K, Lin HJ, Lind L, Luben R, Luo J, McKnight B, Mursu J, Ninomiya T, Overvad K, Psaty BM, Rimm E, Schulze MB, Siscovick D, Skjelbo Nielsen M, Smith AV, Steffen BT, Steffen L, Sun Q, Sundström J, Tsai MY, Tunstall-Pedoe H, Uusitupa MIJ, van Dam RM, Veenstra J, Monique Verschuren WM, Wareham N, Willett W, Woodward M, Yuan JM, Micha R, Lemaitre RN, Mozaffarian D, Risérus U, Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology (CHARGE) Fatty Acids and Outcomes Research Consortium (FORCE) Biomarkers of Dietary Omega-6 Fatty Acids and Incident Cardiovascular Disease and Mortality: An Individual-Level Pooled Analysis of 30 Cohort Studies 2019 May 21;139(21):2422-2436. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.118.038908. PubMed
Habibi M, Zareian M, Ambale Venkatesh B, Samiei S, Imai M, Wu C, Launer LJ, Shea S, Gottesman RF, Heckbert SR, Bluemke DA, Lima JAC. Left atrial mechanical function and incident ischemic cerebrovascular events independent of AF: insights from the MESA study. JACC Cardiovasc Imaging. 2019 Apr 17. pii: S1936-878X(19)30273-6. doi: 10.1016/j.jcmg.2019.02.021. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Whitman IR, Vittinghoff E, DeFilippi CR, Gottdiener JS, Alonso A, Psaty BM, Heckbert SR, Hoogeveen RC, Arking DE, Selvin E, Chen LY, Dewland TA, Marcus GM NT -pro BNP as a Mediator of the Racial Difference in Incident Atrial Fibrillation and Heart Failure 2019 Apr 2;8(7):e010868. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.118.010868. PubMed
Researchers in Cardiovascular Health
 Meagan C. Brown, PhD, MPHAssistant Investigator |
 Sascha Dublin, MD, PhDSenior Investigator |
 Nicole M. Gatto, PhD, MPHPrincipal Collaborative Scientist |
 Beverly B. Green, MD, MPHSenior Investigator |
 Laura Harrington, PhD, MPHAssociate 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
Frequent standing may boost heart health after menopause
Study suggests taking short standing breaks can improve health even if total sitting time stays the same.
Research
Study links sitting for longer stretches to risk of blood clots in older women
Taking more breaks from sitting could potentially lower the risk.
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.
Live healthy
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.
Healthy findings blog
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.
