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):
Khan SS, Hoell C, Castillo LM, Connolly JJ, Crosslin DR, Chung WK, Gordon AS, Harr M, Jarvik GP, Kullo I, Larson EB, Leppig KA, Manolio T, Pacheco JA, Ralston JD, Puckelwartz MJ, Smith ME, Wells Q, McNally EM, Rasmussen-Torvik LJ. Practice patterns after return of rare variants associated with cardiomyopathy in the Electronic Medical Records and Genomics Network. Circ Heart Fail. 2021 May;14(5):e008155. doi: 10.1161/CIRCHEARTFAILURE.120.008155. Epub 2021 May 6. PubMed
Brown MC, Marciniak CM, Garrett AM, Gaebler-Spira DJ. Diet quality in adults with cerebral palsy: a modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease prevention. Dev Med Child Neurol. 2021 Oct;63(10):1221-1228. doi: 10.1111/dmcn.14913. Epub 2021 May 6. PubMed
Huguet N, Larson A, Angier H, Marino M, Green BB, Moreno L, DeVoe JE. Rates of undiagnosed hypertension and diagnosed hypertension without anti-hypertensive medication following the Affordable Care Act. Am J Hypertens. 2021 Apr 30:hpab069. doi: 10.1093/ajh/hpab069. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Harrington LB, Ehlert AN, Thacker EL, Jenny NS, Lopez O, Cushman M, Fitzpatrick A, Mukamal KJ, Jensen MK. Hemostatic factor levels and cognitive decline in older adults: the Cardiovascular Health Study. J Thromb Haemost. 2021 Mar 16. doi: 10.1111/jth.15300. Online ahead of print. PubMed
Zhao Y, Naumova EN, Bobb JF, Henn BC, Singh GM. Joint association of multiple dietary components on cardiovascular disease risk: a machine learning approach. Am J Epidemiol. 2021 Feb 1;kwab004. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwab004. Online ahead of print. 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