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Hypertension is one of the most common complex disorders.The etiology of hypertension
differs widely amongst individuals within a large population. More than 50 genes have been examined in association studies with hypertension, and the number is constantly growing.One of these gene is angiotensinogen (AGT) gene, studied extensively by Kim et al. They showed that increasing the number of AGT increases the blood pressure and hence this may cause hypertension. Twins have been included in studies measuring ambulatory blood pressure, from these studies it has been suggested that essential hypertension contains a large genetic influence. Supporting data has emerged from animal studies as well as clinical studies in human populations.The majority of these studies support the concept that the inheritance is probably multifactorial or that a number of different genetic defects each have an elevated blood pressure as one of their phenotypic expressions.However, the genetic influence upon hypertension is not fully understood at the moment. It is believed that linking hypertension-related phenotypes with specific variations of the genome may yield definitive evidence of heritability. Another view is that hypertension can be caused by mutations in single genes, inherited on a mendelian basis. |
