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Cardiovascular Health

Study Examples | Key Publications | Intro

Heart disease, the leading cause of death in older adults, has long been a high priority for investigators at Group Health Center for Health Studies (CHS). Researchers interested in heart disease here keep finding new links between cardiovascular problems and genetic inheritance, health behaviors, and various medications such as antihypertensive drugs and hormone replacement therapy (HRT). These discoveries spring from well-designed studies that put Group Health’s extensive administrative and pharmacy databases to good use, along with telephone interviews with patients.

CHS scientists often collaborate with colleagues at the University of Washington (UW), the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (FHCRC), the University of Leiden in the Netherlands, and other institutions. These investigators’ findings have challenged conventional wisdom and changed standard practice in several areas. Examples include how to help prevent heart attacks, stroke, irregular heartbeats, and blood clots in deep veins; and how to treat people with high blood pressure as well as women during and after menopause.

"The goal of studying interactions between drugs and genes is to identify patients who may be especially susceptible to either the benefits or the risks of a drug therapy," says Bruce M. Psaty, MD, PhD, a senior investigator at CHS. "If these genetic variants can be identified and confirmed in additional studies, the application of this knowledge will help assure that each individual patient receives the safest and most effective therapies for him or her."

Study Examples | Key Publications | Intro

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