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.”

Laura B. Harrington, PhD, MPH
Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute Assistant Investigator

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

Lai HTM, de Oliveira Otto MC, Lee Y, Wu JHY, Song X, King IB, Psaty BM, Lemaitre RN, McKnight B, Siscovick DS, Mozaffarian D. Serial plasma phospholipid fatty acids in the de novo lipogenesis pathway and total mortality, cause-specific mortality, and cardiovascular diseases in the Cardiovascular Health Study. J Am Heart Assoc. 2019 Nov 19;8(22):e012881. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.119.012881. Epub 2019 Nov 12. PubMed

Klarin D, Busenkell E, Judy R, Lynch J, Levin M, Haessler J, Aragam K, Chaffin M, Haas M, Lindström S, Assimes TL, Huang J, Min Lee K, Shao Q, Huffman JE, Kabrhel C, Huang Y, Sun YV, Vujkovic M, Saleheen D, Miller DR, Reaven P, DuVall S, Boden WE, Pyarajan S, Reiner AP, Trégouët DA, Henke P, Kooperberg C, Gaziano JM, Concato J, Rader DJ, Cho K, Chang KM, Wilson PWF, Smith NL, O'Donnell CJ, Tsao PS, Kathiresan S, Obi A, Damrauer SM, Natarajan P; INVENT Consortium; Veterans Affairs’ Million Veteran Program. Genome-wide association analysis of venous thromboembolism identifies new risk loci and genetic overlap with arterial vascular disease. Nat Genet. 2019 Nov 1. pii: 10.1038/s41588-019-0519-3. doi: 10.1038/s41588-019-0519-3. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed

Clark DW, Okada Y, Moore KHS, Mason D, Pirastu N, Gandin I, Mattsson H, Barnes CLK, Lin K, Zhao JH, Deelen P, Rohde R, Schurmann C, Guo X, Giulianini F, Zhang W, Medina-Gomez C, Karlsson R, Bao Y, Bartz TM, Baumbach C, Biino G, Bixley MJ, Brumat M, Chai JF, Corre T, Cousminer DL, Dekker AM, Eccles DA, van Eijk KR, Fuchsberger C, Gao H, Germain M, Gordon SD, de Haan HG, Harris SE, Hofer E, Huerta-Chagoya A, Igartua C, Jansen IE, Jia Y, Kacprowski T, Karlsson T, Kleber ME, Li SA, Li-Gao R, Mahajan A, Matsuda K, Meidtner K, Meng W, Montasser ME, van der Most PJ, Munz M, Nutile T, Palviainen T, Prasad G, Prasad RB, Priyanka TDS, Rizzi F, Salvi E, Sapkota BR, Shriner D, Skotte L, Smart MC, Smith AV, van der Spek A, Spracklen CN, Strawbridge RJ, Tajuddin SM, Trompet S, Turman C, Verweij N, Viberti C, Wang L, Warren HR, Wootton RE, Yanek LR, Yao J, Yousri NA, Zhao W, Adeyemo AA, Afaq S, Aguilar-Salinas CA, Akiyama M, Albert ML, Allison MA, Alver M, Aung T, Azizi F, Bentley AR, Boeing H, Boerwinkle E, Borja JB, de Borst GJ, Bottinger EP, Broer L, Campbell H, Chanock S, Chee ML, Chen G, Chen YI, Chen Z, Chiu YF, Cocca M, Collins FS, Concas MP, Corley J, Cugliari G, van Dam RM, Damulina A, Daneshpour MS, Day FR, Delgado GE, Dhana K, Doney ASF, Dörr M, Doumatey AP, Dzimiri N, Ebenesersdóttir SS, Elliott J, Elliott P, Ewert R, Felix JF, Fischer K, Freedman BI, Girotto G, Goel A, Gögele M, Goodarzi MO, Graff M, Granot-Hershkovitz E, Grodstein F, Guarrera S, Gudbjartsson DF, Guity K, Gunnarsson B, Guo Y, Hagenaars SP, Haiman CA, Halevy A, Harris TB, Hedayati M, van Heel DA, Hirata M, Höfer I, Hsiung CA, Huang J, Hung YJ, Ikram MA, Jagadeesan A, Jousilahti P, Kamatani Y, Kanai M, Kerrison ND, Kessler T, Khaw KT, Khor CC, de Kleijn DPV, Koh WP, Kolcic I, Kraft P, Krämer BK, Kutalik Z, Kuusisto J, Langenberg C, Launer LJ, Lawlor DA, Lee IT, Lee WJ, Lerch MM, Li L, Liu J, Loh M, London SJ, Loomis S, Lu Y, Luan J, Mägi R, Manichaikul AW, Manunta P, Másson G, Matoba N, Mei XW, Meisinger C, Meitinger T, Mezzavilla M, Milani L, Millwood IY, Momozawa Y, Moore A, Morange PE, Moreno-Macías H, Mori TA, Morrison AC, Muka T, Murakami Y, Murray AD, de Mutsert R, Mychaleckyj JC, Nalls MA, Nauck M, Neville MJ, Nolte IM, Ong KK, Orozco L, Padmanabhan S, Pálsson G, Pankow JS, Pattaro C, Pattie A, Polasek O, Poulter N, Pramstaller PP, Quintana-Murci L, Räikkönen K, Ralhan S, Rao DC, van Rheenen W, Rich SS, Ridker PM, Rietveld CA, Robino A, van Rooij FJA, Ruggiero D, Saba Y, Sabanayagam C, Sabater-Lleal M, Sala CF, Salomaa V, Sandow K, Schmidt H, Scott LJ, Scott WR, Sedaghati-Khayat B, Sennblad B, van Setten J, Sever PJ, Sheu WH, Shi Y, Shrestha S, Shukla SR, Sigurdsson JK, Sikka TT, Singh JR, Smith BH, Stancáková A, Stanton A, Starr JM, Stefansdottir L, Straker L, Sulem P, Sveinbjornsson G, Swertz MA, Taylor AM, Taylor KD, Terzikhan N, Tham YC, Thorleifsson G, Thorsteinsdottir U, Tillander A, Tracy RP, Tusié-Luna T, Tzoulaki I, Vaccargiu S, Vangipurapu J, Veldink JH, Vitart V, Völker U, Vuoksimaa E, Wakil SM, Waldenberger M, Wander GS, Wang YX, Wareham NJ, Wild S, Yajnik CS, Yuan JM, Zeng L, Zhang L, Zhou J, Amin N, Asselbergs FW, Bakker SJL, Becker DM, Lehne B, Bennett DA, van den Berg LH, Berndt SI, Bharadwaj D, Bielak LF, Bochud M, Boehnke M, Bouchard C, Bradfield JP, Brody JA, Campbell A, Carmi S, Caulfield MJ, Cesarini D, Chambers JC, Chandak GR, Cheng CY, Ciullo M, Cornelis M, Cusi D, Smith GD, Deary IJ, Dorajoo R, van Duijn CM, Ellinghaus D, Erdmann J, Eriksson JG, Evangelou E, Evans MK, Faul JD, Feenstra B, Feitosa M, Foisy S, Franke A, Friedlander Y, Gasparini P, Gieger C, Gonzalez C, Goyette P, Grant SFA, Griffiths LR, Groop L, Gudnason V, Gyllensten U, Hakonarson H, Hamsten A, van der Harst P, Heng CK, Hicks AA, Hochner H, Huikuri H, Hunt SC, Jaddoe VWV, De Jager PL, Johannesson M, Johansson Å, Jonas JB, Jukema JW, Junttila J, Kaprio J, Kardia SLR, Karpe F, Kumari M, Laakso M, van der Laan SW, Lahti J, Laudes M, Lea RA, Lieb W, Lumley T, Martin NG, März W, Matullo G, McCarthy MI, Medland SE, Merriman TR, Metspalu A, Meyer BF, Mohlke KL, Montgomery GW, Mook-Kanamori D, Munroe PB, North KE, Nyholt DR, O'connell JR, Ober C, Oldehinkel AJ, Palmas W, Palmer C, Pasterkamp GG, Patin E, Pennell CE, Perusse L, Peyser PA, Pirastu M, Polderman TJC, Porteous DJ, Posthuma D, Psaty BM, Rioux JD, Rivadeneira F, Rotimi C, Rotter JI, Rudan I, Den Ruijter HM, Sanghera DK, Sattar N, Schmidt R, Schulze MB, Schunkert H, Scott RA, Shuldiner AR, Sim X, Small N, Smith JA, Sotoodehnia N, Tai ES, Teumer A, Timpson NJ, Toniolo D, Tregouet DA, Tuomi T, Vollenweider P, Wang CA, Weir DR, Whitfield JB, Wijmenga C, Wong TY, Wright J, Yang J, Yu L, Zemel BS, Zonderman AB, Perola M, Magnusson PKE, Uitterlinden AG, Kooner JS, Chasman DI, Loos RJF, Franceschini N, Franke L, Haley CS, Hayward C, Walters RG, Perry JRB, Esko T, Helgason A, Stefansson K, Joshi PK, Kubo M, Wilson JF. Associations of autozygosity with a broad range of human phenotypes. Nat Commun. 2019 Oct 31;10(1):4957. doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-12283-6. PubMed

Liang J, Cade BE, He KY, Wang H, Lee J, Sofer T, Williams S, Li R, Chen H, Gottlieb DJ, Evans DS, Guo X, Gharib SA, Hale L, Hillman DR, Lutsey PL, Mukherjee S, Ochs-Balcom HM, Palmer LJ, Rhodes J, Purcell S, Patel SR, Saxena R, Stone KL, Tang W, Tranah GJ, Boerwinkle E, Lin X, Liu Y, Psaty BM, Vasan RS, Cho MH, Manichaikul A, Silverman EK, Barr RG, Rich SS, Rotter JI, Wilson JG; NHLBI Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed); TOPMed Sleep Working Group, Redline S, Zhu X. Sequencing analysis at 8p23 identifies multiple rare variants in DLC1 associated with sleep-related oxyhemoglobin saturation level. Am J Hum Genet. 2019 Nov 7;105(5):1057-1068. doi: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2019.10.002. Epub 2019 Oct 24. PubMed

Masoudi FA, Viragh T, Magid DJ, Moghtaderi A, Schilsky S, Sage WM, Goodrich G, Newton KM, Smith DH, Black B. Trends in Medicare payment rates for noninvasive cardiac tests and association with testing location. JAMA Intern Med. 2019 Oct 14. pii: 2753121. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2019.4269. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed

Researchers in Cardiovascular Health

Sascha Dublin, MD, PhD

Senior Investigator
206-287-2870
Sascha.Dublin@kp.org

Curriculum vitae (CV)

Beverly B. Green, MD, MPH

Senior Investigator
206-287-2997
Bev.B.Green@kp.org

Curriculum vitae (CV)

Laura Harrington, PhD, MPH

Assistant Investigator
206-287-2066
Laura.B.Harrington@kp.org

Curriculum vitae (CV)

Ellen O'Meara, PhD

Principal Collaborative Scientist
206-287-2938
Ellen.S.O'Meara@kp.org

Curriculum vitae (CV)

Nicole M. Gatto, PhD, MPH

Principal Collaborative Scientist
Nicole.M.Gatto@kp.org

Curriculum vitae (CV)

Meagan C. Brown, PhD, MPH

Assistant Investigator
Meagan.C.Brown@kp.org

Curriculum vitae (CV)

 

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