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, irregular heartbeats, deep-vein blood clots, and other cardiovascular diseases.
“We’re studying how genes, medications, and everyday choices influence cardiovascular health,” says Bruce M. Psaty, MD, PhD, KPWHRI senior investigator and co-director of the University of Washington Cardiovascular Health Research Unit. “One of our goals is to know when people are especially susceptible to either the benefits or risks of a drug, so they receive the safest and most effective therapies."
Beverly B. Green, MD, MPH, senior investigator, is finding simple, practical, innovative ways to help people control their blood pressure. “We’ve found that helping patients and health care teams work together on personalized care plans is the best path to lifelong heart health,” she says.
Kaiser Permanente Washington cardiovascular research includes studies by:
- Sascha Dublin, MD, PhD, senior investigator, on how drugs may be associated with cardiovascular disease;
- Dr. Green, on simple, practical, innovative ways to help control blood pressure;
- Laura B. Harrington, PhD, MPH, assistant investigator, on the relation between modifiable risk factors and cardiovascular event risk, particularly the risk of venous blood clots; and
- Dr. Psaty, on genetic, proteomic, pharmacologic, and new or emerging risk factors for cardiovascular events.
Recent publications on Cardiovascular Health
Cheadle A, Rosaschi M, Burden D, Ferguson M, Greaves B, Houston L, McClendon J, Minkoff J, Jones M, Schwartz P, Nudelman J, Maddux-Gonzalez M. A community-wide collaboration to reduce cardiovascular disease risk: the Hearts of Sonoma County initiative. Prev Chronic Dis. 2019;16:E89. doi: 10.5888/pcd16.180596. PubMed
Lemaitre RN, Jensen PN, Hoofnagle A, McKnight B, Fretts AM, King IB, Siscovick DS, Psaty BM, Heckbert SR, Mozaffarian D, Sotoodehnia N. Plasma ceramides and sphingomyelins in relation to heart failure risk. Circ Heart Fail. 2019 Jul;12(7):e005708. doi: 10.1161/CIRCHEARTFAILURE.118.005708. Epub 2019 Jul 12. PubMed
Floyd JS, Bloch KM, Brody JA, Maroteau C, Siddiqui MK, Gregory R, Carr DF, Molokhia M, Liu X, Bis JC, Ahmed A, Liu X, Hallberg P, Yue QY, Magnusson PKE, Brisson D, Wiggins KL, Morrison AC, Khoury E, McKeigue P, Stricker BH, Lapeyre-Mestre M, Heckbert SR, Gallagher AM, Chinoy H, Gibbs RA, Bondon-Guitton E, Tracy R, Boerwinkle E, Gaudet D, Conforti A, van Staa T, Sitlani CM, Rice KM, Maitland-van der Zee AH, Wadelius M, Morris AP, Pirmohamed M, Palmer CAN, Psaty BM, Alfirevic A; PREDICTION-ADR Consortium and EUDRAGENE. Pharmacogenomics of statin-related myopathy: meta-analysis of rare variants from whole-exome sequencing. PLoS One. 2019 Jun 26;14(6):e0218115. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0218115. eCollection 2019. PubMed
Carr DF, Francis B, Jorgensen AL, Zhang E, Chinoy H, Heckbert SR, Bis JC, Brody JA, Floyd J, Psaty BM, Molokhia M, Lapeyre-Mestre M, Conforti A, Alfirevic A, van Staa T, Pirmohamed M. Genome-wide association study of statin-induced myopathy in patients recruited using the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink. Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2019 Jun 20. doi: 10.1002/cpt.1557. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Dashti HS, Merino J, Lane JM, Song Y, Smith CE, Tanaka T, McKeown NM, Tucker C, Sun D, Bartz TM, Li-Gao R, Nisa H, Reutrakul S, Lemaitre RN, Alshehri TM, de Mutsert R, Bazzano L, Qi L, Knutson KL, Psaty BM, Mook-Kanamori DO, Perica VB, Neuhouser ML, Scheer FAJL, Rutter MK, Garaulet M, Saxena R. Genome-wide association study of breakfast skipping links clock regulation with food timing. Am J Clin Nutr. 2019 Jun 13. pii: 5514151. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/nqz076. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Researchers in Cardiovascular Health
 Sascha Dublin, MD, PhDSenior Investigator |
 Beverly B. Green, MD, MPHSenior Investigator |
 Laura Harrington, PhD, MPHAssistant Investigator |
 Aruna Kamineni, PhD, MPHAssistant Investigator |
 Ellen O'Meara, PhDResearch Associate |
 Jennifer C. Nelson, PhDDirector of Biostatistics; Senior Investigator |
 Michael L. Parchman, MD, MPHSenior Investigator, MacColl Center for Health Care Innovation |
 Bruce M. Psaty, MD, PhDSenior Investigator, KPWHRI; Professor of Medicine, Epidemiology, and Health Services, University of Washington |
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
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.
healthy findings blog
How a physician-scientist studying blood pressure became a patient too
Dr. Beverly Green, PCORI-funded BP-CHECK leader, reflects on her professional interest in hypertension getting up close and personal
Read it in Healthy Findings.
Latest News
Diagnosing high blood pressure: Who knew it could be so complicated?
High blood pressure is a well-known health risk. But diagnosing it can be challenging. With patient advisors, the BP-CHECK study aims to find an easier way.
Read it in News and Events.
KPWHRI IN THE MEDIA
Cardiovascular disease-related hospital admissions jump on second day after major snowfall
Heart hospitalizations may spike days after snowstorms pass
Reuters (syndicated), Jan. 30, 2017
