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
Arking DE, Pulit SL, Crotti L, van der Harst P, Munroe PB, Koopmann TT, Sotoodehnia N, Rossin EJ, Morley M, Wang X, Johnson AD, Lundby A, Gudbjartsson DF, Noseworthy PA, Eijgelsheim M, Bradford Y, Tarasov KV, Dörr M, Müller-Nurasyid M, Lahtinen AM, Nolte IM, Smith AV, Bis JC, Isaacs A, Newhouse SJ, Evans DS, Post WS, Waggott D, Lyytikäinen LP, Hicks AA, Eisele L, Ellinghaus D, Hayward C, Navarro P, Ulivi S, Tanaka T, Tester DJ, Chatel S, Gustafsson S, Kumari M, Morris RW, Naluai AT, Padmanabhan S, Kluttig A, Strohmer B, Panayiotou AG, Torres M, Knoflach M, Hubacek JA, Slowikowski K, Raychaudhuri S, Kumar RD, Harris TB, Launer LJ, Shuldiner AR, Alonso A, Bader JS, Ehret G, Huang H, Kao WH, Strait JB, Macfarlane PW, Brown M, Caulfield MJ, Samani NJ, Kronenberg F, Willeit J; CARe Consortium; COGENT Consortium, Smith JG, Greiser KH, Meyer Zu Schwabedissen H, Werdan K, Carella M, Zelante L, Heckbert SR, Psaty BM, Rotter JI, Kolcic I, Polašek O, Wright AF, Griffin M, Daly MJ; DCCT/EDIC, Arnar DO, Hólm H, Thorsteinsdottir U; eMERGE Consortium, Denny JC, Roden DM, Zuvich RL, Emilsson V, Plump AS, Larson MG, O'Donnell CJ, Yin X, Bobbo M, D'Adamo AP, Iorio A, Sinagra G, Carracedo A, Cummings SR, Nalls MA, Jula A, Kontula KK, Marjamaa A, Oikarinen L, Perola M, Porthan K, Erbel R, Hoffmann P, Jöckel KH, Kälsch H, Nöthen MM; HRGEN Consortium, den Hoed M, Loos RJ, Thelle DS, Gieger C, Meitinger T, Perz S, Peters A, Prucha H, Sinner MF, Waldenberger M, de Boer RA, Franke L, van der Vleuten PA, Beckmann BM, Martens E, Bardai A, Hofman N, Wilde AA, Behr ER, Dalageorgou C, Giudicessi JR, Medeiros-Domingo A, Barc J, Kyndt F, Probst V, Ghidoni A, Insolia R, Hamilton RM, Scherer SW, Brandimarto J, Margulies K, Moravec CE, Greco M FD, Fuchsberger C, O'Connell JR, Lee WK, Watt GC, Campbell H, Wild SH, El Mokhtari NE, Frey N, Asselbergs FW, Leach IM, Navis G, van den Berg MP, van Veldhuisen DJ, Kellis M, Krijthe BP, Franco OH, Hofman A, Kors JA, Uitterlinden AG, Witteman JC, Kedenko L, Lamina C, Oostra BA, Abecasis GR, Lakatta EG, Mulas A, Orrú M, Schlessinger D, Uda M, Markus MR, Völker U, Snieder H, Spector TD, Arnlöv J, Lind L, Sundström J, Syvänen AC, Kivimaki M, Kähönen M, Mononen N, Raitakari OT, Viikari JS, Adamkova V, Kiechl S, Brion M, Nicolaides AN, Paulweber B, Haerting J, Dominiczak AF, Nyberg F, Whincup PH, Hingorani AD, Schott JJ, Bezzina CR, Ingelsson E, Ferrucci L, Gasparini P, Wilson JF, Rudan I, Franke A, Mühleisen TW, Pramstaller PP, Lehtimäki TJ, Paterson AD, Parsa A, Liu Y, van Duijn CM, Siscovick DS, Gudnason V, Jamshidi Y, Salomaa V, Felix SB, Sanna S, Ritchie MD, Stricker BH, Stefansson K, Boyer LA, Cappola TP, Olsen JV, Lage K, Schwartz PJ, Kääb S, Chakravarti A, Ackerman MJ, Pfeufer A, de Bakker PI, Newton-Cheh C. Genetic association study of QT interval highlights role for calcium signaling pathways in myocardial repolarization. Nat Genet. 2014 Aug;46(8):826-36. doi: 10.1038/ng.3014. Epub 2014 Jun 22. PubMed
Peralta CA, Katz R, Newman AB, Psaty BM, Odden MC. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure, incident cardiovascular events, and death in elderly persons: the role of functional limitation in the Cardiovascular Health Study. Hypertension. 2014 Sep;64(3):472-80. doi: 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.114.03831. Epub 2014 Jun 16. PubMed
Roetker NS, Chen LY, Heckbert SR, Nazarian S, Soliman EZ, Bluemke DA, Lima JA, Alonso A. Relation of systolic, diastolic, and pulse pressures and aortic distensibility with atrial fibrillation (from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis). Am J Cardiol. 2014 Aug 15;114(4):587-92. doi: 10.1016/j.amjcard.2014.05.041. Epub 2014 Jun 6. PubMed
Alfirevic A, Neely D, Armitage J, Chinoy H, Cooper RG, Laaksonen R, Carr DF, Bloch KM, Fahy J, Hanson A, Yue QY, Wadelius M, van Der Zee AH, Voora D, Psaty BM, Palmer C, Pirmohamed M. Phenotype standardisation for statin-induced myotoxicity. Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2014 Oct;96(4):470-6. doi: 10.1038/clpt.2014.121. Epub 2014 Jun 4. PubMed
Boerwinkle E, Heckbert SR. Following-up genome-wide association study signals: lessons learned from Cohorts for Heart and aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology (CHARGE) consortium targeted sequencing study. Circ Cardiovasc Genet. 2014;7(3):332-4. doi: 10.1161/CIRCGENETICS.113.000078. 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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