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):
Weng LC, Lunetta KL, Müller-Nurasyid M, Smith AV, Thériault S, Weeke PE, Barnard J, Bis JC, Lyytikäinen LP, Kleber ME, Martinsson A, Lin HJ, Rienstra M, Trompet S, Krijthe BP, Dörr M, Klarin D, Chasman DI, Sinner MF, Waldenberger M, Launer LJ, Harris TB, Soliman EZ, Alonso A, Paré G, Teixeira PL, Denny JC, Shoemaker MB, Van Wagoner DR, Smith JD, Psaty BM, Sotoodehnia N, Taylor KD, Kähönen M, Nikus K, Delgado GE, Melander O, Engström G, Yao J, Guo X, Christophersen IE, Ellinor PT, Geelhoed B, Verweij N, Macfarlane P, Ford I, Heeringa J, Franco OH, Uitterlinden AG, Völker U, Teumer A, Rose LM, Kääb S, Gudnason V, Arking DE, Conen D, Roden DM, Chung MK, Heckbert SR, Benjamin EJ, Lehtimäki T, März W, Smith JG, Rotter JI, van der Harst P, Jukema JW, Stricker BH, Felix SB, Albert CM, Lubitz SA. Genetic interactions with age, sex, body mass index, and hypertension in relation to atrial fibrillation: the AFGen consortium. Sci Rep. 2017;7(1):11303. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-09396-7. PubMed
Weng LC, Tang W, Rich SS, Smith NL, Redline S, O'Donnell CJ, Basu S, Reiner AP, Delaney JA, Tracy RP, Palmer CD, Young T, Yang Q, Folsom AR, Cushman M. A genetic association study of D-dimer levels with 50K SNPs from a candidate gene chip in four ethnic groups. Thromb Res. 2014 Aug;134(2):462-7. doi: 10.1016/j.thromres.2014.05.018. Epub 2014 May 20. PubMed
Wheat G, Carter A, McAfee T, Thompson RS, Gayman J, Meuchel K. Addressing a neglected coronary heart disease factor in an HMO: exercise counseling and fitness testing at Group Health Cooperative. HMO Pract. 1996;10(3):131-6. PubMed
Whelton SP, McEvoy JW, Shaw L, Psaty BM, Lima JAC, Budoff M, Nasir K, Szklo M, Blumenthal RS, Blaha MJ. Association of normal systolic blood pressure level with cardiovascular disease in the absence of risk factors. JJAMA Cardiol. 2020 Sep 1;5(9):1011-1018. doi: 10.1001/jamacardio.2020.1731.JAMA Cardiol. 2020 Sep 1;5(9):1011-1018. doi: 10.1001/jamacardio.2020.1731. PubMed
Whitman IR, Vittinghoff E, DeFilippi CR, Gottdiener JS, Alonso A, Psaty BM, Heckbert SR, Hoogeveen RC, Arking DE, Selvin E, Chen LY, Dewland TA, Marcus GM. NT-pro BNP as a mediator of the racial difference in incident atrial fibrillation and heart failure. J Am Heart Assoc. 2019 Apr 2;8(7):e010868. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.118.010868. 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