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):
Wong JYY, Margolis HG, Machiela M, Zhou W, Odden MC, Psaty BM, Robbins J, Jones RR, Rotter JI, Chanock SJ, Rothman N, Lan Q, Lee JS. Outdoor air pollution and mosaic loss of chromosome Y in older men from the Cardiovascular Health Study. Environ Int. 2018 Apr 23;116:239-247. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2018.04.030. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Wong ND, Lopez VA, Roberts CS, Solomon HA, Burke GL, Kuller L, Tracy R, Yanez D, Psaty BM. Combined association of lipids and blood pressure in relation to incident cardiovascular disease in the elderly: the Cardiovascular Health Study. Am J Hypertens. 2010 Feb;23(2):161-7. Epub 2009 Nov 19. PubMed
Wong ND, Nelson JC, Granston T, Bertoni AG, Blumenthal RS, Carr JJ, Guerci A, Jacobs DR Jr, Kronmal R, Liu K, Saad M, Selvin E, Tracy R, Detrano R. Metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and incidence and progression of coronary calcium: the multiethnic study of atherosclerosis study. JACC Cardiovasc Imaging. 2012;5(4):358-66. PubMed
Wood AM, Kaptoge S, Butterworth AS, Willeit P, Warnakula S, Bolton T, Paige E, Paul DS, Sweeting M, Burgess S, Bell S, Astle W, Stevens D, Koulman A, Selmer RM, Verschuren WMM, Sato S, Njølstad I, Woodward M, Salomaa V, Nordestgaard BG, Yeap BB, Fletcher A, Melander O, Kuller LH, Balkau B, Marmot M, Koenig W, Casiglia E, Cooper C, Arndt V, Franco OH, Wennberg P, Gallacher J, de la Cámara AG, Völzke H, Dahm CC, Dale CE, Bergmann MM, Crespo CJ, van der Schouw YT, Kaaks R, Simons LA, Lagiou P, Schoufour JD, Boer JMA, Key TJ, Rodriguez B, Moreno-Iribas C, Davidson KW, Taylor JO, Sacerdote C, Wallace RB, Quiros JR, Tumino R, Blazer DG 2nd, Linneberg A, Daimon M, Panico S, Howard B, Skeie G, Strandberg T, Weiderpass E, Nietert PJ, Psaty BM, Kromhout D, Salamanca-Fernandez E, Kiechl S, Krumholz HM, Grioni S, Palli D, Huerta JM, Price J, Sundström J, Arriola L, Arima H, Travis RC, Panagiotakos DB, Karakatsani A, Trichopoulou A, Kühn T, Grobbee DE, Barrett-Connor E, van Schoor N, Boeing H, Overvad K, Kauhanen J, Wareham N, Langenberg C, Forouhi N, Wennberg M, Després JP, Cushman M, Cooper JA, Rodriguez CJ, Sakurai M, Shaw JE, Knuiman M, Voortman T, Meisinger C, Tjønneland A, Brenner H, Palmieri L, Dallongeville J, Brunner EJ, Assmann G, Trevisan M, Gillum RF, Ford I, Sattar N, Lazo M, Thompson SG, Ferrari P, Leon DA, Smith GD, Peto R, Jackson R, Banks E, Di Angelantonio E, Danesh J, Emerging Risk Factors Collaboration/EPIC-CVD/UK Biobank Alcohol Study Group. Risk thresholds for alcohol consumption: combined analysis of individual-participant data for 599 912 current drinkers in 83 prospective studies. Lancet. 2018 Apr 14;391(10129):1513-1523. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(18)30134-X. PubMed
Wopereis DM, Du Puy RS, van Heemst D, Walsh JP, Bremner A, Bakker SJL, Bauer DC, Cappola AR, Ceresini G, Degryse J, Dullaart RPF, Feller M, Ferrucci L, Floriani C, Franco OH, Iacoviello M, Iervasi G, Imaizumi M, Jukema JW, Khaw KT, Luben RN, Molinaro S, Nauck M, Patel KV, Peeters RP, Psaty BM, Razvi S, Schindhelm RK, van Schoor NM, Stott DJ, Vaes B, Vanderpump MPJ, Völzke H, Westendorp RGJ, Rodondi N, Cobbaert CM, Gussekloo J, den Elzen WPJ, Thyroid Studies Collaboration. The relation between thyroid function and anemia: a pooled analysis of individual participant data. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2018 Oct 1;103(10):3658-3667. doi: 10.1210/jc.2018-00481. 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