Genetics of Blood Pressure: New Insights Into a Complex Trait
High blood pressure is a leading modifiable cause of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality worldwide. About 80 million US adults have high blood pressure, and studies indicate that it is highly heritable (about 40%-50%), meaning that of the total phenotypic variation in the trait, genetics are estimated to account for that percentage.1-5 Despite the high degree of heritability, known genetic variants identified to date explain only a small percentage (∼