The role of genetics in hypertension

In patients with primary hypertension, elevated blood pressure (BP) is considered to be a consequence of multiple factors. The 2 major factors involved are environmental factors and genes. A steady progress has been made from experimental animal studies to human genetic studies. Except for the rare monogenic hypertensive diseases, the association of genes and BP are yet to be confirmed, and the quest for “the blood pressure gene” continues. This review briefly discusses the role of genetics in HTN.