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):
Barasch E, Gottdiener JS, Tressel W, Bartz TM, Buzkova P, Massera D, deFilippi C, Biggs ML, Psaty BM, Kizer JR, Owens D. The association of aortic valve sclerosis, aortic annulus increased reflectivity, and mitral annular calcification with subsequent aortic stenosis in older individuals. Findings from the Cardiovascular Health Study. J Am Soc Echocardiogr. 2022 Sep 9;S0894-7317(22)00452-7. doi: 10.1016/j.echo.2022.08.013. Online ahead of print. PubMed
JaKa M, Bergdall A, Beran MS, Solberg L, Green BB, Andersen J, Kodet A, Norman S, Haugen P, Crain L, Trower N, Sharma R, Rehrauer D, Maeztu C, Margolis K. Reach in a pragmatic hypertension trial: A critical RE-AIM component. Contemp Clin Trials. 2022 Oct;121:106896. doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2022.106896. Epub 2022 Aug 24. PubMed
Margolis KL, Crain AL, Green BB, O'Connor PJ, Solberg LI, Beran M, Bergdall AR, Pawloski PA, Ziegenfuss JY, JaKa MM, Appana D, Sharma R, Kodet AJ, Trower NK, Rehrauer DJ, McKinney Z, Norton CK, Haugen P, Anderson JP, Crabtree BF, Norman SK, Sperl-Hillen JM. Comparison of explanatory and pragmatic design choices in a cluster-randomized hypertension trial: effects on enrollment, participant characteristics, and adherence. Trials. 2022 Aug 17;23(1):673. doi: 10.1186/s13063-022-06611-3. PubMed
Lemaitre RN, Jensen PN, Zeigler M, Fretts AM, Umans JG, Howard BV, Sitlani CM, McKnight B, Gharib SA, King IB, Siscovick DS, Psaty BM, Sotoodehnia N, Totah RA. Plasma epoxyeicosatrienoic acids and diabetes-related cardiovascular disease: the cardiovascular health study. EBioMedicine. 2022 Aug 2;83:104189. doi: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2022.104189. Online ahead of print. PubMed
Kottke TE, Anderson JP, Zillhardt JD, Sperl-Hillen JM, O'Connor PJ, Green BB, Williams RA, Averbeck BM, Stiffman MN, Beran M, Rakotz M, Margolis KL. Association of an automated blood pressure measurement quality improvement program with terminal digit preference and recorded mean blood pressure in 11 clinics. JAMA Netw Open. 2022;5(8):e2229098. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.29098. PubMed
![]() Sascha Dublin, MD, PhDSenior Investigator |
![]() Beverly B. Green, MD, MPHSenior Investigator |
![]() Laura Harrington, PhD, MPHAssistant Investigator |
![]() Michael L. Parchman, MD, MPHSenior Investigator, ACT Center |
![]() Ellen O'Meara, PhDPrincipal Collaborative Scientist |
![]() Nicole M. Gatto, PhD, MPHPrincipal Collaborative Scientist |
![]() Meagan C. Brown, PhD, MPHCollaborative Scientist |
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