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):
Tomaselli G, Roach WH, Pina IL, Oster ME, Dietz WH, Horton K, Borden WB, Brownell K, Gibbons RJ, Otten JJ, Lee CS, Hill C, Heidenreich PA, Siscovick DS, Whitsel LP. Government continues to have an important role in promoting cardiovascular health. Am Heart J. 2018;198:160-165. doi: 10.1016/j.ahj.2017.11.002. Epub 2018 Jan 3. PubMed
Tracy RP, Doyle MF, Olson NC, Huber SA, Jenny NS, Sallam R, Psaty BM, Kronmal RA. T-helper type 1 bias in healthy people is associated with cytomegalovirus serology and atherosclerosis: the multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis. J Am Heart Assoc. 2013 May 20;2(3):e000117. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.113.000117. PubMed
Tracy RP, Lemaitre RN, Psaty BM, Ives DG, Evans RW, Cushman M, Meilahn EN, Kuller LH. Relationship of C-reactive protein to risk of cardiovascular disease in the elderly. Results from the Cardiovascular Health Study and the Rural Health Promotion Project. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 1997;17(6):1121-7. PubMed
Tracy RP, Psaty BM, Macy E, Bovill EG, Cushman M, Cornell ES, Kuller LH. Lifetime smoking exposure affects the association of C-reactive protein with cardiovascular disease risk factors and subclinical disease in healthy elderly subjects. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 1997;17(10):2167-76. PubMed
Traylor M, Farrall M, Holliday EG, Sudlow C, Hopewell JC, Cheng YC, Fornage M, Ikram MA, Malik R, Bevan S, Thorsteinsdottir U, Nalls MA, Longstreth W, Wiggins KL, Yadav S, Parati EA, Destefano AL, Worrall BB, Kittner SJ, Khan MS, Reiner AP, Helgadottir A, Achterberg S, Fernandez-Cadenas I, Abboud S, Schmidt R, Walters M, Chen WM, Ringelstein EB, O'Donnell M, Ho WK, Pera J, Lemmens R, Norrving B, Higgins P, Benn M, Sale M, Kuhlenbäumer G, Doney AS, Vicente AM, Delavaran H, Algra A, Davies G, Oliveira SA, Palmer CN, Deary I, Schmidt H, Pandolfo M, Montaner J, Carty C, de Bakker PI, Kostulas K, Ferro JM, van Zuydam NR, Valdimarsson E, Nordestgaard BG, Lindgren A, Thijs V, Slowik A, Saleheen D, Paré G, Berger K, Thorleifsson G; The Australian Stroke Genetics Collaborative, Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium 2 (WTCCC2), Hofman A, Mosley TH, Mitchell BD, Furie K, Clarke R, Levi C, Seshadri S, Gschwendtner A, Boncoraglio GB, Sharma P, Bis JC, Gretarsdottir S, Psaty BM, Rothwell PM, Rosand J, Meschia JF, Stefansson K, Dichgans M, Markus HS; on behalf of the International Stroke Genetics Consortium. Genetic risk factors for ischaemic stroke and its subtypes (the METASTROKE Collaboration): a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies. Lancet Neurol. 2012 Nov;11(11):951-62. doi: 10.1016/S1474-4422(12)70234-X. Epub 2012 Oct 5. 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