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):
Noordam R, Bos MM, Wang H, Winkler TW, Bentley AR, Kilpeläinen TO, de Vries PS, Sung YJ, Schwander K, Cade BE, Manning A, Aschard H, Brown MR, Chen H, Franceschini N, Musani SK, Richard M, Vojinovic D, Aslibekyan S, Bartz TM, de Las Fuentes L, Feitosa M, Horimoto AR, Ilkov M, Kho M, Kraja A, Li C, Lim E, Liu Y, Mook-Kanamori DO, Rankinen T, Tajuddin SM, van der Spek A, Wang Z, Marten J, Laville V, Alver M, Evangelou E, Graff ME, He M, Kühnel B, Lyytikäinen LP, Marques-Vidal P, Nolte IM, Palmer ND, Rauramaa R, Shu XO, Snieder H, Weiss S, Wen W, Yanek LR, Adolfo C, Ballantyne C, Bielak L, Biermasz NR, Boerwinkle E, Dimou N, Eiriksdottir G, Gao C, Gharib SA, Gottlieb DJ, Haba-Rubio J, Harris TB, Heikkinen S, Heinzer R, Hixson JE, Homuth G, Ikram MA, Komulainen P, Krieger JE, Lee J, Liu J, Lohman KK, Luik AI, Mägi R, Martin LW, Meitinger T, Metspalu A, Milaneschi Y, Nalls MA, O'Connell J, Peters A, Peyser P, Raitakari OT, Reiner AP, Rensen PCN, Rice TK, Rich SS, Roenneberg T, Rotter JI, Schreiner PJ, Shikany J, Sidney SS, Sims M, Sitlani CM, Sofer T, Strauch K, Swertz MA, Taylor KD, Uitterlinden AG, van Duijn CM, Völzke H, Waldenberger M, Wallance RB, van Dijk KW, Yu C, Zonderman AB, Becker DM, Elliott P, Esko T, Gieger C, Grabe HJ, Lakka TA, Lehtimäki T, North KE, Penninx BWJH, Vollenweider P, Wagenknecht LE, Wu T, Xiang YB, Zheng W, Arnett DK, Bouchard C, Evans MK, Gudnason V, Kardia S, Kelly TN, Kritchevsky SB, Loos RJF, Pereira AC, Province M, Psaty BM, Rotimi C, Zhu X, Amin N, Cupples LA, Fornage M, Fox EF, Guo X, Gauderman WJ, Rice K, Kooperberg C, Munroe PB, Liu CT, Morrison AC, Rao DC, van Heemst D, Redline S Multi-ancestry sleep-by-SNP interaction analysis in 126,926 individuals reveals lipid loci stratified by sleep duration 2019 Nov;10(1):5121. doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-12958-0. Epub 2019-11-12. PubMed
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 2019 Nov;8(22):e012881. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.119.012881. Epub 2019-11-12. 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, Stan?áková 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 2019 Oct 31;10(1):4957. doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-12283-6. Epub 2019-10-31. PubMed
Sarnowski C, Leong A, Raffield LM, Wu P, de Vries PS, DiCorpo D, Guo X, Xu H, Liu Y, Zheng X, Hu Y, Brody JA, Goodarzi MO, Hidalgo BA, Highland HM, Jain D, Liu CT, Naik RP, O'Connell JR, Perry JA, Porneala BC, Selvin E, Wessel J, Psaty BM, Curran JE, Peralta JM, Blangero J, Kooperberg C, Mathias R, Johnson AD, Reiner AP, Mitchell BD, Cupples LA, Vasan RS, Correa A, Morrison AC, Boerwinkle E, Rotter JI, Rich SS, Manning AK, Dupuis J, Meigs JB, TOPMed Diabetes Working Group, TOPMed Hematology Working Group, TOPMed Hemostasis Working Group, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute TOPMed Consortium Impact of Rare and Common Genetic Variants on Diabetes Diagnosis by Hemoglobin A1c in Multi-Ancestry Cohorts: The Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine Program 2019 Oct 3;105(4):706-718. doi: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2019.08.010. Epub 2019-09-26. PubMed
Tin A, Marten J, Halperin Kuhns VL, Li Y, Wuttke M, Kirsten H, Sieber KB, Qiu C, Gorski M, Yu Z, Giri A, Sveinbjornsson G, Li M, Chu AY, Hoppmann A, O'Connor LJ, Prins B, Nutile T, Noce D, Akiyama M, Cocca M, Ghasemi S, van der Most PJ, Horn K, Xu Y, Fuchsberger C, Sedaghat S, Afaq S, Amin N, Ärnlöv J, Bakker SJL, Bansal N, Baptista D, Bergmann S, Biggs ML, Biino G, Boerwinkle E, Bottinger EP, Boutin TS, Brumat M, Burkhardt R, Campana E, Campbell A, Campbell H, Carroll RJ, Catamo E, Chambers JC, Ciullo M, Concas MP, Coresh J, Corre T, Cusi D, Felicita SC, de Borst MH, De Grandi A, de Mutsert R, de Vries APJ, Delgado G, Demirkan A, Devuyst O, Dittrich K, Eckardt KU, Ehret G, Endlich K, Evans MK, Gansevoort RT, Gasparini P, Giedraitis V, Gieger C, Girotto G, Gögele M, Gordon SD, Gudbjartsson DF, Gudnason V, German Chronic Kidney Disease Study, Haller T, Hamet P, Harris TB, Hayward C, Hicks AA, Hofer E, Holm H, Huang W, Hutri-Kähönen N, Hwang SJ, Ikram MA, Lewis RM, Ingelsson E, Jakobsdottir J, Jonsdottir I, Jonsson H, Joshi PK, Josyula NS, Jung B, Kähönen M, Kamatani Y, Kanai M, Kerr SM, Kiess W, Kleber ME, Koenig W, Kooner JS, Körner A, Kovacs P, Krämer BK, Kronenberg F, Kubo M, Kühnel B, La Bianca M, Lange LA, Lehne B, Lehtimäki T, Lifelines Cohort Study, Liu J, Loeffler M, Loos RJF, Lyytikäinen LP, Magi R, Mahajan A, Martin NG, März W, Mascalzoni D, Matsuda K, Meisinger C, Meitinger T, Metspalu A, Milaneschi Y, V. A. Million Veteran Program, O'Donnell CJ, Wilson OD, Gaziano JM, Mishra PP, Mohlke KL, Mononen N, Montgomery GW, Mook-Kanamori DO, Müller-Nurasyid M, Nadkarni GN, Nalls MA, Nauck M, Nikus K, Ning B, Nolte IM, Noordam R, O'Connell JR, Olafsson I, Padmanabhan S, Penninx BWJH, Perls T, Peters A, Pirastu M, Pirastu N, Pistis G, Polasek O, Ponte B, Porteous DJ, Poulain T, Preuss MH, Rabelink TJ, Raffield LM, Raitakari OT, Rettig R, Rheinberger M, Rice KM, Rizzi F, Robino A, Rudan I, Krajcoviechova A, Cifkova R, Rueedi R, Ruggiero D, Ryan KA, Saba Y, Salvi E, Schmidt H, Schmidt R, Shaffer CM, Smith AV, Smith BH, Spracklen CN, Strauch K, Stumvoll M, Sulem P, Tajuddin SM, Teren A, Thiery J, Thio CHL, Thorsteinsdottir U, Toniolo D, Tönjes A, Tremblay J, Uitterlinden AG, Vaccargiu S, van der Harst P, van Duijn CM, Verweij N, Völker U, Vollenweider P, Waeber G, Waldenberger M, Whitfield JB, Wild SH, Wilson JF, Yang Q, Zhang W, Zonderman AB, Bochud M, Wilson JG, Pendergrass SA, Ho K, Parsa A, Pramstaller PP, Psaty BM, Böger CA, Snieder H, Butterworth AS, Okada Y, Edwards TL, Stefansson K, Susztak K, Scholz M, Heid IM, Hung AM, Teumer A, Pattaro C, Woodward OM, Vitart V, Köttgen A Target genes, variants, tissues and transcriptional pathways influencing human serum urate levels 2019 Oct;51(10):1459-1474. doi: 10.1038/s41588-019-0504-x. Epub 2019-10-02. PubMed
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 |
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