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):
Thacker EL, McKnight B, Psaty BM, Longstreth WT Jr, Sitlani CM, Dublin S, Arnold AM, Fitzpatrick AL, Gottesman RF, Heckbert SR. Atrial fibrillation and cognitive decline: a longitudinal cohort study. Neurology. 2013 Jul 9;81(2):119-125. Epub 2013 Jun 5. PubMed
Thacker EL, Psaty BM, McKnight B, Heckbert SR, Longstreth WT Jr, Mukamal KJ, Meigs JB, de Boer IH, Boyko EJ, Carnethon MR, Kizer JR, Tracy RP, Smith NL, Siscovick DS. Fasting and post-glucose load measures of insulin resistance and risk of ischemic stroke in older adults. Stroke. 2011 Dec;42(12):3347-51. Epub 2011 Oct 13. PubMed
Thacker EL, Wiggins KL, Rice KM, Longstreth WT Jr, Bis JC, Dublin S, Smith NL, Heckbert SR, Psaty BM. Short-term and long-term risk of incident ischemic stroke after transient ischemic attack. Stroke. 2010 Feb;41(2):239-43. Epub 2009 Dec 3. PubMed
Thibord F, Klarin D, Brody JA, Chen MH, Levin MG, Chasman DI, Goode EL, Hveem K, Teder-Laving M, Martinez-Perez A, Aïssi D, Daian-Bacq D, Ito K, Natarajan P, Lutsey PL, Nadkarni GN, de Vries PS, Cuellar-Partida G, Wolford BN, Pattee JW, Kooperberg C, Braekkan SK, Li-Gao R, Saut N, Sept C, Germain M, Judy RL, Wiggins KL, Ko D, O'Donnell CJ, Taylor KD, Giulianini F, De Andrade M, Nøst TH, Boland A, Empana JP, Koyama S, Gilliland T, Do R, Huffman JE, Wang X, Zhou W, Manuel Soria J, Carlos Souto J, Pankratz N, Haessler J, Hindberg K, Rosendaal FR, Turman C, Olaso R, Kember RL, Bartz TM, Lynch JA, Heckbert SR, Armasu SM, Brumpton B, Smadja DM, Jouven X, Komuro I, Clapham KR, Loos RJF, Willer CJ, Sabater-Lleal M, Pankow JS, Reiner AP, Morelli VM, Ridker PM, Vlieg AVH, Deleuze JF, Kraft P, Rader DJ; Global Biobank Meta-Analysis Initiative; Estonian Biobank Research Team; 23andMe Research Team; Biobank Japan; CHARGE Hemostasis Working Group, Min Lee K, Psaty BM, Heidi Skogholt A, Emmerich J, Suchon P, Rich SS, Vy HMT, Tang W, Jackson RD, Hansen JB, Morange PE, Kabrhel C, Trégouët DA, Damrauer SM, Johnson AD, Smith NL. Cross-ancestry investigation of venous thromboembolism genomic predictors. Circulation. 2022 Sep 26;101161CIRCULATIONAHA122059675. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.122.059675. Online ahead of print. PubMed
Thom DH, Grayston JT, Siscovick DS, Wang SP, Weiss NS, Daling JR. Association of prior infection with Chlamydia pneumoniae and angiographically demonstrated coronary artery disease. JAMA. 1992;268(1):68-72. 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