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):
Alonso A, Roetker NS, Soliman EZ, Chen LY, Greenland P, Heckbert SR. Prediction of atrial fibrillation in a racially diverse cohort: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). J Am Heart Assoc. 2016 Feb 23;5(2). pii: e003077. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.115.003077. PubMed
Alonso A, Yin X, Roetker NS, Magnani JW, Kronmal RA, Ellinor PT, Chen LY, Lubitz SA, McClelland RL, McManus DD, Soliman EZ, Huxley RR, Nazarian S, Szklo M, Heckbert SR, Benjamin EJ. Blood lipids and the incidence of atrial fibrillation: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis and the Framingham Heart Study. J Am Heart Assoc. 2014 Oct 7;3(5). pii: e001211. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.114.001211. PubMed
Amin N, Allebrandt KV, van der Spek A, Muller-Myhsok B, Hek K, Teder-Laving M, Hayward C, Esko T, van Mill JG, Mbarek H, Watson NF, Melville SA, Del Greco FM, Byrne EM, Oole E, Kolcic I, Chen TH, Evans DS, Coresh J, Vogelzangs N, Karjalainen J, Willemsen G, Gharib SA, Zgaga L, Mihailov E, Stone KL, Campbell H, Brouwer RW, Demirkan A, Isaacs A, Dogas Z, Marciante KD, Campbell S, Borovecki F, Luik AI, Li M, Hottenga JJ, Huffman JE, van den Hout MC, Cummings SR, Aulchenko YS, Gehrman PR, Uitterlinden AG, Wichmann HE, Müller-Nurasyid M, Fehrmann RS, Montgomery GW, Hofman A, Kao WH, Oostra BA, Wright AF, Vink JM, Wilson JF, Pramstaller PP, Hicks AA, Polasek O, Punjabi NM, Redline S, Psaty BM, Heath AC, Merrow M, Tranah GJ, Gottlieb DJ, Boomsma DI, Martin NG, Rudan I, Tiemeier H, van IJcken WF, Penninx BW, Metspalu A, Meitinger T, Franke L, Roenneberg T, van Duijn CM. Genetic variants in RBFOX3 are associated with sleep latency. Eur J Hum Genet. 2016 May 4. doi: 10.1038/ejhg.2016.31. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Amin N, Byrne E, Johnson J, Chenevix-Trench G, Walter S, Nolte IM, kConFab Investigators, Vink JM, Rawal R, Mangino M, Teumer A, Keers JC, Verwoert G, Baumeister S, Biffar R, Petersmann A, Dahmen N, Doering A, Isaacs A, Broer L, Wray NR, Montgomery GW, Levy D, Psaty BM, Gudnason V, Chakravarti A, Sulem P, Gudbjartsson DF, Kiemeney LA, Thorsteinsdottir U, Stefansson K, van Rooij FJ, Aulchenko YS, Hottenga JJ, Rivadeneira FR, Hofman A, Uitterlinden AG, Hammond CJ, Shin SY, Ikram A, Witteman JC, Janssens AC, Snieder H, Tiemeier H, Wolfenbuttel BH, Oostra BA, Heath AC, Wichmann E, Spector TD, Grabe HJ, Boomsma DI, Martin NG, van Duijn CM. Genome-wide association analysis of coffee drinking suggests association with CYP1A1/CYP1A2 and NRCAM. Mol Psychiatry. 2012 Nov;17(11):1116-29. doi: 10.1038/mp.2011.101. Epub 2011 Aug 30. PubMed
Andrade SE, Raebel MA, Brown J, Lane K, Livingston J, Boudreau D, Rolnick SJ, Roblin D, Smith DH, Dal Pan GJ, Scott PE, Platt R. Outpatient use of cardiovascular drugs during pregnancy. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf. 2008;17(3):240-7. Epub Jan 16. 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