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
Ezaz G, Leffler DA, Beach S, Schoen RE, Crockett SD, Gourevitch RA, Rose S, Morris M, Carrell DS, Greer JB, Mehrotra A Association between endoscopist personality and rate of adenoma detection 2019 Jul;17(8):1571-1579.e7. doi: 10.1016/j.cgh.2018.10.019. Epub 2018-10-13. PubMed
Lemaitre RN, Jensen PN, Hoofnagle A, McKnight B, Fretts AM, King IB, Siscovick DS, Psaty BM, Heckbert SR, Mozaffarian D, Sotoodehnia N Plasma Ceramides and Sphingomyelins in Relation to Heart Failure Risk 2019 Jul;12(7):e005708. doi: 10.1161/CIRCHEARTFAILURE.118.005708. Epub 2019-07-12. PubMed
Floyd JS, Bloch KM, Brody JA, Maroteau C, Siddiqui MK, Gregory R, Carr DF, Molokhia M, Liu X, Bis JC, Ahmed A, Liu X, Hallberg P, Yue QY, Magnusson PKE, Brisson D, Wiggins KL, Morrison AC, Khoury E, McKeigue P, Stricker BH, Lapeyre-Mestre M, Heckbert SR, Gallagher AM, Chinoy H, Gibbs RA, Bondon-Guitton E, Tracy R, Boerwinkle E, Gaudet D, Conforti A, van Staa T, Sitlani CM, Rice KM, Maitland-van der Zee AH, Wadelius M, Morris AP, Pirmohamed M, Palmer CAN, Psaty BM, Alfirevic A; PREDICTION-ADR Consortium and EUDRAGENE. Pharmacogenomics of statin-related myopathy: meta-analysis of rare variants from whole-exome sequencing. PLoS One. 2019 Jun 26;14(6):e0218115. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0218115. eCollection 2019. PubMed
de Vries PS, Brown MR, Bentley AR, Sung YJ, Winkler TW, Ntalla I, Schwander K, Kraja AT, Guo X, Franceschini N, Cheng CY, Sim X, Vojinovic D, Huffman JE, Musani SK, Li C, Feitosa MF, Richard MA, Noordam R, Aschard H, Bartz TM, Bielak LF, Deng X, Dorajoo R, Lohman KK, Manning AK, Rankinen T, Smith AV, Tajuddin SM, Evangelou E, Graff M, Alver M, Boissel M, Chai JF, Chen X, Divers J, Gandin I, Gao C, Goel A, Hagemeijer Y, Harris SE, Hartwig FP, He M, Horimoto ARVR, Hsu FC, Jackson AU, Kasturiratne A, Komulainen P, Kühnel B, Laguzzi F, Lee JH, Luan J, Lyytikäinen LP, Matoba N, Nolte IM, Pietzner M, Riaz M, Said MA, Scott RA, Sofer T, Stancáková A, Takeuchi F, Tayo BO, van der Most PJ, Varga TV, Wang Y, Ware EB, Wen W, Yanek LR, Zhang W, Zhao JH, Afaq S, Amin N, Amini M, Arking DE, Aung T, Ballantyne C, Boerwinkle E, Broeckel U, Campbell A, Canouil M, Charumathi S, Chen YI, Connell JM, de Faire U, de Las Fuentes L, de Mutsert R, de Silva HJ, Ding J, Dominiczak AF, Duan Q, Eaton CB, Eppinga RN, Faul JD, Fisher V, Forrester T, Franco OH, Friedlander Y, Ghanbari M, Giulianini F, Grabe HJ, Grove ML, Gu CC, Harris TB, Heikkinen S, Heng CK, Hirata M, Hixson JE, Howard BV, Ikram MA, InterAct Consortium, Jacobs DR, Johnson C, Jonas JB, Kammerer CM, Katsuya T, Khor CC, Kilpeläinen TO, Koh WP, Koistinen HA, Kolcic I, Kooperberg C, Krieger JE, Kritchevsky SB, Kubo M, Kuusisto J, Lakka TA, Langefeld CD, Langenberg C, Launer LJ, Lehne B, Lemaitre RN, Li Y, Liang J, Liu J, Liu K, Loh M, Louie T, Mägi R, Manichaikul AW, McKenzie CA, Meitinger T, Metspalu A, Milaneschi Y, Milani L, Mohlke KL, Mosley TH, Mukamal KJ, Nalls MA, Nauck M, Nelson CP, Sotoodehnia N, O'Connell JR, Palmer ND, Pazoki R, Pedersen NL, Peters A, Peyser PA, Polasek O, Poulter N, Raffel LJ, Raitakari OT, Reiner AP, Rice TK, Rich SS, Robino A, Robinson JG, Rose LM, Rudan I, Schmidt CO, Schreiner PJ, Scott WR, Sever P, Shi Y, Sidney S, Sims M, Smith BH, Smith JA, Snieder H, Starr JM, Strauch K, Tan N, Taylor KD, Teo YY, Tham YC, Uitterlinden AG, van Heemst D, Vuckovic D, Waldenberger M, Wang L, Wang Y, Wang Z, Wei WB, Williams C, Wilson G, Wojczynski MK, Yao J, Yu B, Yu C, Yuan JM, Zhao W, Zonderman AB, Becker DM, Boehnke M, Bowden DW, Chambers JC, Deary IJ, Esko T, Farrall M, Franks PW, Freedman BI, Froguel P, Gasparini P, Gieger C, Horta BL, Kamatani Y, Kato N, Kooner JS, Laakso M, Leander K, Lehtimäki T, Lifelines Cohort, Groningen, The Netherlands (Lifelines Cohort Study), Magnusson PKE, Penninx B, Pereira AC, Rauramaa R, Samani NJ, Scott J, Shu XO, van der Harst P, Wagenknecht LE, Wang YX, Wareham NJ, Watkins H, Weir DR, Wickremasinghe AR, Zheng W, Elliott P, North KE, Bouchard C, Evans MK, Gudnason V, Liu CT, Liu Y, Psaty BM, Ridker PM, van Dam RM, Kardia SLR, Zhu X, Rotimi CN, Mook-Kanamori DO, Fornage M, Kelly TN, Fox ER, Hayward C, van Duijn CM, Tai ES, Wong TY, Liu J, Rotter JI, Gauderman WJ, Province MA, Munroe PB, Rice K, Chasman DI, Cupples LA, Rao DC, Morrison AC Multi-Ancestry Genome-Wide Association Study of Lipid Levels Incorporating Gene-Alcohol Interactions 2019 Jun;188(6):1033-1054. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwz005. PubMed
Lindström S, Brody JA, Turman C, Germain M, Bartz TM, Smith EN, Chen MH, Puurunen M, Chasman D, Hassler J, Pankratz N, Basu S, Guan W, Gyorgy B, Ibrahim M, Empana JP, Olaso R, Jackson R, Braekkan SK, McKnight B, Deleuze JF, O'Donnell CJ, Jouven X, Frazer KA, Psaty BM, Wiggins KL, Taylor K, Reiner AP, Heckbert SR, Kooperberg C, Ridker P, Hansen JB, Tang W, Johnson AD, Morange PE, Trégouët DA, Kraft P, Smith NL, Kabrhel C, INVENT Consortium A large-scale exome array analysis of venous thromboembolism 2019 Jun;43(4):449-457. doi: 10.1002/gepi.22187. Epub 2019-01-19. PubMed
Researchers in Cardiovascular Health
 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 |
Affiliate researchers
James Floyd, MD, MS
Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology
University of Washington
Nicholas L. Smith, PhD, MPH
Professor, Epidemiology, Cardiovascular Health Research Unit, University of Washington
Director, Seattle Epidemiology and Information Resource Center, VA Puget Sound Health Care System
Research
Frequent standing may boost heart health after menopause
Study suggests taking short standing breaks can improve health even if total sitting time stays the same.
Research
Study links sitting for longer stretches to risk of blood clots in older women
Taking more breaks from sitting could potentially lower the risk.
Research
Study finds bariatric surgery linked to substantially lower risk of blood clots long-term
Largest study to date helps patients weigh risks and benefits of surgery.
Live healthy
Measuring blood pressure at home: It's easy and accurate
Bev Green, doctor and scientist, has tips for monitoring your blood pressure without leaving your house.
Healthy findings blog
New grant boosts research on cardiovascular disease
Epidemiologist Laura B. Harrington, PhD, MPH, speaks about working in cardiovascular and aging research.
Research to practice
Home blood pressure monitoring: From study to clinic
Beverly Green, MD, and Kaiser Permanente work to improve hypertension care.
Research
Is blood pressure reading better at home or clinic?
Home blood pressure monitoring shown to be an excellent alternative for making new diagnoses of hypertension.
