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
Bis JC, DeStefano A, Liu X, Brody JA, Choi SH, Verhaaren BF, Debette S, Ikram MA, Shahar E, Butler KR Jr, Gottesman RF, Muzny D, Kovar CL, Psaty BM, Hofman A, Lumley T, Gupta M, Wolf PA, van Duijn C, Gibbs RA, Mosley TH, Longstreth WT Jr, Boerwinkle E, Seshadri S, Fornage M. Associations of NINJ2 sequence variants with incident ischemic stroke in the Cohorts for Heart and Aging in Genomic Epidemiology (CHARGE) consortium. PLoS One. 2014 Jun 24;9(6):e99798. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0099798. eCollection 2014. PubMed
Qi Zhang DD, Eisenberg MJ, Grandi SM, Joseph L, O'Laughlin J, Paradis G, Lozano P, Filion KB. Bupropion, smoking cessation, and health-related quality of life following an acute myocardial infarction. J Popul Ther Clin Pharmacol. 2014;21(3):e346-56. Epub 2014 Oct 8. PubMed
van Leeuwen EM, Smouter FA, Kam-Thong T, Karbalai N, Smith AV, Harris TB, Launer LJ, Sitlani CM, Li G, Brody JA, Bis JC, White CC, Jaiswal A, Oostra BA, Hofman A, Rivadeneira F, Uitterlinden AG, Boerwinkle E, Ballantyne CM, Gudnason V, Psaty BM, Cupples LA, Järvelin MR, Ripatti S, Isaacs A, Müller-Myhsok B, Karssen LC, van Duijn CM. The challenges of genome-wide interaction studies: lessons to learn from the analysis of HDL blood levels. PLoS One. 2014 Oct 20;9(10):e109290. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0109290. eCollection 2014. PubMed
Tang W, Kowgier M, Loth DW, Soler Artigas M, Joubert BR, Hodge E, Gharib SA, Smith AV, Ruczinski I, Gudnason V, Mathias RA, Harris TB, Hansel NN, Launer LJ, Barnes KC, Hansen JG, Albrecht E, Aldrich MC, Allerhand M, Barr RG, Brusselle GG, Couper DJ, Curjuric I, Davies G, Deary IJ, Dupuis J, Fall T, Foy M, Franceschini N, Gao W, Gläser S, Gu X, Hancock DB, Heinrich J, Hofman A, Imboden M, Ingelsson E, James A, Karrasch S, Koch B, Kritchevsky SB, Kumar A, Lahousse L, Li G, Lind L, Lindgren C, Liu Y, Lohman K, Lumley T, McArdle WL, Meibohm B, Morris AP, Morrison AC, Musk B, North KE, Palmer LJ, Probst-Hensch NM, Psaty BM, Rivadeneira F, Rotter JI, Schulz H, Smith LJ, Sood A, Starr JM, Strachan DP, Teumer A, Uitterlinden AG, Völzke H, Voorman A, Wain LV, Wells MT, Wilk JB, Williams OD, Heckbert SR, Stricker BH, London SJ, Fornage M, Tobin MD, O Connor GT, Hall IP, Cassano PA. Large-scale genome-wide association studies and meta-analyses of longitudinal change in adult lung function. PLoS One. 2014 Jul 1;9(7):e100776. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0100776. eCollection 2014. PubMed
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
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
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KPWHRI in the media
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Hypertension headache: Medical myth or true health concern?
AARP, June 3, 2024
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