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):
Kaplan RC, Strizich G, Aneke-Nash C, Dominguez-Islas C, Buzkova P, Strickler H, Rohan T, Pollak M, Kuller L, Kizer JR, Cappola A, Li CI, Psaty BM, Newman A. Insulinlike growth factor binding protein-1 and ghrelin predict health outcomes among older adults: CHS cohort. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2016 Nov 7:jc20162779. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Floyd JS, Psaty BM. The application of genomics in diabetes: barriers to discovery and implementation. Diabetes Care. 2016;39(11):1858-1869. PubMed
Harrington LB, Marck BT, Wiggins KL, McKnight B, Heckbert SR, Woods NF, LaCroix AZ, Blondon M, Psaty BM, Rosendaal FR, Matsumoto AM, Smith NL. Cross-sectional association of endogenous steroid hormone, sex hormone-binding globulin, and precursor steroid levels with hemostatic factor levels in postmenopausal women. J Thromb Haemost. 2016 Oct 31. doi: 10.1111/jth.13554. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Lubitz SA, Yin X, Lin H, Kolek M, Smith JG, Trompet S, Rienstra M, Rost NS, Teixeira P, Almgren P, Anderson CD, Chen LY, Engström G, Ford I, Furie KL, Guo X, Larson MG, Lunetta K, Macfarlane PW, Psaty BM, Soliman EZ, Sotoodehnia N, Stott DJ, Taylor KD, Weng LC, Yao J, Geelhoed B, Verweij N, Siland JE, Kathiresan S, Roselli C, Roden DM, van der Harst P, Darbar D, Jukema JW, Melander O, Rosand J, Rotter JI, Heckbert SR, Ellinor PT, Alonso A, Benjamin EJ; AFGen Consortium. Genetic risk prediction of atrial fibrillation. Circulation. 2016 Oct 28. pii: CIRCULATIONAHA.116.024143. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Reynolds K, Go AS, Leong TK, Boudreau DM, Cassidy-Bushrow AE, Fortmann SP, Goldberg RJ, Gurwitz JH, Magid DJ, Margolis KL, McNeal CJ, Newton KM, Novotny R, Quesenberry CP Jr, Rosamond WD, Smith DH, VanWormer JJ, Vupputuri S, Waring SC, Williams MS, Sidney S. Trends in incidence of hospitalized acute myocardial infarction in the Cardiovascular Research Network (CVRN). Am J Med. 2016 Oct 14. pii: S0002-9343(16)31020-8. doi: 10.1016/j.amjmed.2016.09.014. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
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 |
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