Kaiser Permanente researchers and physicians showcase findings at major cardiology meeting

Annual American Heart Association Scientific Sessions held in Philadelphia in November

The American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2023 brought together more than 15,000 research scientists, physicians, and cardiology professionals from throughout the world to present and discuss the latest scientific advancements, research, and evidence-based clinical practice updates in cardiovascular science.

Presentations by research scientists from the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research (DOR) and physicians from The Permanente Medical Group (TPMG) were featured throughout the meeting, held November 11–13, in Philadelphia, on topics ranging from female-specific risk factors for cardiovascular disease to improving risk stratification for aortic stenosis.

“The American Heart Association Scientific Sessions serves as a remarkable platform for the wealth of research accomplishments within our organization,” said Matthew D. Solomon, MD, PhD, a DOR physician researcher and TPMG cardiologist. “This annual event not only underscores the depth of expertise within our ranks but also our commitment to advancing health care by presenting research studies and clinical insights that have a direct and transformative impact on patient care.”

Highlights included:

• AHA News promoted a presentation of a study senior-authored by DOR research scientist Joan C. Lo, MD, and presented at the conference by Sherry Zhang, MD, a resident physician in internal medicine at Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center in Oakland. The study showed an increased risk of hypertension in adolescent girls with polycystic ovary syndrome. Lo also senior authored a digital poster presented by Adrian Bacong, PhD, MPH, a postdoctoral scholar at Stanford University School of Medicine, who used Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNC) data to analyze underweight and obesity among Asian children ages 3 to 5.

• DOR research scientist Erica P. Gunderson, PhD, MS, MPH, RD, moderated the panel presentation where the study that received the annual Dr. Nanette K. Wenger Research Goes Red Award for Best Scientific Article on Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke in Women was presented. Gunderson received the award in 2022. Gunderson also senior-authored a digital poster presented by Michael Najem, a medical student at the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine, that evaluated how chronic hypertension and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy affect differences in severe maternal morbidity among racial and ethnic groups.
• In a moderated digital poster session, Solomon presented new data from his large KPNC aortic stenosis study that suggests incorporating symptom status across the individual grades of aortic stenosis may improve risk stratification beyond aortic stenosis severity alone. Solomon also presented two posters. One study reported on telehealth usage for outpatient cardiology during the COVID-19 pandemic; the second study investigated treatment patterns and outcomes for young adults with atrial fibrillation in the KP Young-AF study.
• DOR research scientist Ankeet Bhatt, MD, MBA, ScM, served as the social media moderator for the Featured Science session Exercise is Life (and Death): Approaches in Athletes, Arrhythmias, and Heart Failure.

Additional studies presented or co-authored by Kaiser Permanente physicians and DOR research scientists:

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  Monica S. Choo, MD, a resident in obstetrics and gynecology at KPNC, presented the poster, “Subsequent pregnancies and long-term cardiac outcomes among patients with prior peripartum cardiomyopathy in KPNC,” which found most patients with this condition recovered left ventricular function and there were no significant differences in left ventricular ejection fraction among those women who did and do not go on to give birth.

• DOR research scientists co-authored a study presented by Andrea Diaz, MD, at the University of Washington, that used data from the DOR Pathways Study to look at incident cardiometabolic risk factors in breast cancer patients stratified by race and ethnicity.
• Ashok Krishnaswami, MD, a TPMG cardiologist and a clinician-researcher with the Delivery Science and Applied Research (DARE) cardiology research group, co-authored a study presented by Maziyah Ogarro, a medical student at New York Medical College, that used data from the SPRINT study to look at the association of intensive blood pressure therapy and mortality in older adults who had an injurious fall.
• Alix Fairman, MD, a cardiology fellow at KP San Francisco, and TPMG cardiologist Seema Pursnani, MD, presented a moderated digital poster on their research on future hypertension risk following peripartum cardiomyopathy.
• TPMG cardiologist Xinge Hu, MD, co-authored a poster on a case study that highlights “happy Takotsubo” syndrome as a unique presentation of Takotsubo syndrome triggered by intense positive emotions.
• TPMG cardiologists Steven Hamilton, MD, and Alicia Romero, MD, presented a poster on a case study on a man with the rare disorder cardiac platypnea-orthodeoxia syndrome.
• Patricia “Pat” Zrelak, RN, who won the Kaiser Permanente 2022 Excellence in Research and Evidence-Based Practice Award presented the cardiovascular seminar, “Scaling Implementation Science to Size in Cardiovascular Disease.”

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About the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research

The Kaiser Permanente Division of Research conducts, publishes and disseminates epidemiologic and health services research to improve the health and medical care of Kaiser Permanente members and society at large. It seeks to understand the determinants of illness and well-being, and to improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of health care. Currently, DOR’s 600-plus staff is working on more than 450 epidemiological and health services research projects. For more information, visit divisionofresearch.kaiserpermanente.org or follow us @KPDOR.