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 B. 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.
- Senior Research Associate Leah Tuzzio, MPH, focuses on studies designed to improve patients’ care experience and quality of life. She has studied chronic illnesses and health disparities, including how nurses can help Black and Latinx people manage hypertension. For the Healthy Hearts Northwest trial, she was part of the qualitative team that studied how to help smaller primary care clinics adopt evidence-based cardiovascular care. Analyzing data from this trial, she recently led a study that identified barriers to implementing cardiovascular risk calculation at smaller clinics. Her colleagues Dr. O'Meara and Dr. Parchman collaborated on this research.
Recent publications on Cardiovascular Health
Suthahar N, Lau ES, Blaha MJ, Paniagua SM, Larson MG, Psaty BM, Benjamin EJ, Allison MA, Bartz TM, Januzzi JL Jr, Levy D, Meems LMG, Bakker SJL, Lima JAC, Cushman M, Lee DS, Wang TJ, deFilippi CR, Herrington DM, Nayor M, Vasan RS, Gardin JM, Kizer JR, Bertoni AG, Allen NB, Gansevoort RT, Shah SJ, Gottdiener JS, Ho JE, de Boer RA. Sex-specific associations of cardiovascular risk factors and biomarkers with incident heart failure. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2020;76(12):1455-1465. doi: 10.1016/j.jacc.2020.07.044. PubMed
Omboni S, McManus RJ, Bosworth HB, Chappell LC, Green BB, Kario K, Logan AG, Magid DJ, Mckinstry B, Margolis KL, Parati G, Wakefield BJ. Evidence and recommendations on the use of telemedicine for the management of arterial hypertension: an international expert position paper. Hypertension. 2020 Nov;76(5):1368-1383. doi: 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.120.15873. Epub 2020 Sep 14. PubMed
Yaghootkar H, Zhang Y, Spracklen CN, Karaderi T, Huang LO, Bradfield J, Schurmann C, Fine RS, Preuss MH, Kutalik Z, Wittemans LB, Lu Y, Metz S, Willems SM, Li-Gao R, Grarup N, Wang S, Molnos S, Sandoval-Zárate AA, Nalls MA, Lange LA, Haesser J, Guo X, Lyytikäinen LP, Feitosa MF, Sitlani CM, Venturini C, Mahajan A, Kacprowski T, Wang CA, Chasman DI, Amin N, Broer L, Robertson N, Young KL, Allison M, Auer PL, Blüher M, Borja JB, Bork-Jensen J, Carrasquilla GD, Christofidou P, Demirkan A, Doege CA, Garcia ME, Graff M, Guo K, Hakonarson H, Hong J, Ida Chen YD, Jackson R, Jakupovic H, Jousilahti P, Justice AE, Kähönen M, Kizer JR, Kriebel J, LeDuc CA, Li J, Lind L, Luan J, Mackey D, Mangino M, Männistö S, Martin Carli JF, Medina-Gomez C, Mook-Kanamori DO, Morris AP, de Mutsert R, Nauck M, Nedeljkovic I, Pennell CE, Pradhan AD, Psaty BM, Raitakari OT, Scott RA, Skaaby T, Strauch K, Taylor KD, Teumer A, Uitterlinden AG, Wu Y, Yao J, Walker M, North KE, Kovacs P, Ikram MA, van Duijn CM, Ridker PM, Lye S, Homuth G, Ingelsson E, Spector TD, McKnight B, Province MA, Lehtimäki T, Adair LS, Rotter JI, Reiner AP, Wilson JG, Harris TB, Ripatti S, Grallert H, Meigs JB, Salomaa V, Hansen T, Willems van Dijk K, Wareham NJ, Grant SF, Langenberg C, Frayling TM, Lindgren CM, Mohlke KL, Leibel RL, Loos RJ, Kilpeläinen TO. Genetic studies of leptin concentrations implicate leptin in the regulation of early adiposity. Diabetes. 2020 Sep 11;db200070. doi: 10.2337/db20-0070. Online ahead of print. PubMed
Vuckovic D, Bao EL, Akbari P, Lareau CA, Mousas A, Jiang T, Chen MH, Raffield LM, Tardaguila M, Huffman JE, Ritchie SC, Megy K, Ponstingl H, Penkett CJ, Albers PK, Wigdor EM, Sakaue S, Moscati A, Manansala R, Lo KS, Qian H, Akiyama M, Bartz TM, Ben-Shlomo Y, Beswick A, Bork-Jensen J, Bottinger EP, Brody JA, van Rooij FJA, Chitrala KN, Wilson PWF, Choquet H, Danesh J, Di Angelantonio E, Dimou N, Ding J, Elliott P, Esko T, Evans MK, Felix SB, Floyd JS, Broer L, Grarup N, Guo MH, Guo Q, Greinacher A, Haessler J, Hansen T, Howson JMM, Huang W, Jorgenson E, Kacprowski T, Kähönen M, Kamatani Y, Kanai M, Karthikeyan S, Koskeridis F, Lange LA, Lehtimäki T, Linneberg A, Liu Y, Lyytikäinen LP, Manichaikul A, Matsuda K, Mohlke KL, Mononen N, Murakami Y, Nadkarni GN, Nikus K, Pankratz N, Pedersen O, Preuss M, Psaty BM, Raitakari OT, Rich SS, Rodriguez BAT, Rosen JD, Rotter JI, Schubert P, Spracklen CN, Surendran P, Tang H, Tardif JC, Ghanbari M, Völker U, Völzke H, Watkins NA, Weiss S; VA Million Veteran Program, Cai N, Kundu K, Watt SB, Walter K, Zonderman AB, Cho K, Li Y, Loos RJF, Knight JC, Georges M, Stegle O, Evangelou E, Okada Y, Roberts DJ, Inouye M, Johnson AD, Auer PL, Astle WJ, Reiner AP, Butterworth AS, Ouwehand WH, Lettre G, Sankaran VG, Soranzo N. The polygenic and monogenic basis of blood traits and diseases. Cell. 2020 Sep 3;182(5):1214-1231.e11. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2020.08.008. PubMed
Chen MH, Raffield LM, Mousas A, Sakaue S, Huffman JE, Moscati A, Trivedi B, Jiang T, Akbari P, Vuckovic D, Bao EL, Zhong X, Manansala R, Laplante V, Chen M, Lo KS, Qian H, Lareau CA, Beaudoin M, Hunt KA, Akiyama M, Bartz TM, Ben-Shlomo Y, Beswick A, Bork-Jensen J, Bottinger EP, Brody JA, van Rooij FJA, Chitrala K, Cho K, Choquet H, Correa A, Danesh J, Di Angelantonio E, Dimou N, Ding J, Elliott P, Esko T, Evans MK, Floyd JS, Broer L, Grarup N, Guo MH, Greinacher A, Haessler J, Hansen T, Howson JMM, Huang QQ, Huang W, Jorgenson E, Kacprowski T, Kähönen M, Kamatani Y, Kanai M, Karthikeyan S, Koskeridis F, Lange LA, Lehtimäki T, Lerch MM, Linneberg A, Liu Y, Lyytikäinen LP, Manichaikul A, Martin HC, Matsuda K, Mohlke KL, Mononen N, Murakami Y, Nadkarni GN, Nauck M, Nikus K, Ouwehand WH, Pankratz N, Pedersen O, Preuss M, Psaty BM, Raitakari OT, Roberts DJ, Rich SS, Rodriguez BAT, Rosen JD, Rotter JI, Schubert P, Spracklen CN, Surendran P, Tang H, Tardif JC, Trembath RC, Ghanbari M, Völker U, Völzke H, Watkins NA, Zonderman AB; VA Million Veteran Program, Wilson PWF, Li Y, Butterworth AS, Gauchat JF, Chiang CWK, Li B, Loos RJF, Astle WJ, Evangelou E, van Heel DA, Sankaran VG, Okada Y, Soranzo N, Johnson AD, Reiner AP, Auer PL, Lettre G. Trans-ethnic and ancestry-specific blood-cell genetics in 746,667 individuals from 5 global populations. Cell. 2020 Sep 3;182(5):1198-1213.e14. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2020.06.045. PubMed
Researchers in Cardiovascular Health
 Sascha Dublin, MD, PhDSenior Investigator |
 Beverly B. Green, MD, MPHSenior Investigator |
 Laura Harrington, PhD, MPHAssistant Investigator |
 Michael L. Parchman, MD, MPHSenior Investigator, Center for Accelerating Care Transformation |
 Ellen O'Meara, PhDSenior Research Associate |
 Leah Tuzzio, MPHSenior Research Associate |
Affiliate researchers
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
Practical findings
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.
New findings
There’s no place like home … to track blood pressure
Research led by KPWHRI’s Beverly Green, MD, MPH, finds that patients prefer at-home monitoring of blood pressure.
Research
CVD risk calculation: Can smaller clinics break through?
KPWHRI researchers uncover obstacles faced by smaller practices when adding CVD risk calculators into primary care.
RESEARCH
New research identifies flaws in hypertension diagnoses
KPWHRI investigator’s recent AHA presentations highlight problems in blood pressure readings.
improving care
Partnership with rural-health experts aims to improve heart care
Healthy Hearts Northwest is helping patients receive better care for cardiovascular conditions thanks to collaborators like Dr. L.J. Fagnan.
profile
Heart health researcher Laura B. Harrington joins KPWHRI
KPWHRI gains an expert in studying cardiovascular diseases, including venous blood clots, especially in women and older adults.
Land Acknowledgment
Our Seattle offices sit on the occupied land of the Duwamish and by the shared waters of the Coast Salish people, who have been here thousands of years and remain. Learn about practicing land acknowledgment.