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Progress and Future Aspects in Genetics of Human Hypertension

  • Prevention of Hypertension: Public Health Challenges (P Muntner, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Hypertension has become a major global health burden due to its high prevalence and associated increase in risk of cardiovascular disease and premature death. It is well established that hypertension is determined by both genetic and environmental factors and their complex interactions. Recent large-scale meta-analyses of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have successfully identified a total of 38 loci which achieved genome-wide significance (P < 5 × 10-8) for their association with blood pressure (BP). Although the heritability of BP explained by these loci is very limited, GWAS meta-analyses have elicited renewed optimism in hypertension genomics research, highlighting novel pathways influencing BP and elucidating genetic mechanisms underlying BP regulation. This review summarizes evolving progress in the rapidly moving field of hypertension genetics and highlights several promising approaches for dissecting the remaining heritability of BP. It also discusses the future translation of genetic findings to hypertension treatment and prevention.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by research grants (R01HL087263 and R01HL090682) from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD.

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Conflict of Interest

Qi Zhao, Tanika N. Kelly, Changwei Li, and Jiang He declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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  1. Department of Epidemiology, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, 1440 Canal Street, Suite 2000, New Orleans, LA, 70112, USA

    Qi Zhao, Tanika N. Kelly, Changwei Li & Jiang He

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  2. Tanika N. Kelly
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  3. Changwei Li
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  4. Jiang He
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Correspondence to Jiang He.

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Zhao, Q., Kelly, T.N., Li, C. et al. Progress and Future Aspects in Genetics of Human Hypertension. Curr Hypertens Rep 15, 676–686 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11906-013-0388-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11906-013-0388-6

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