High blood pressure, a life-threatening condition that affects about one in three American adults, may be triggered not only by what we eat and whether we smoke, but by who we have as parents, researchers say.
In a study led by scientists at the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Human Genetic Research and Cardiovascular Research Center, researchers said they have found 10 genetic variants that, when combined, can significantly raise the risks of heart attack, heart disease, and stroke.
Along with other risk factors, such as a person’s age, gender, and excess weight, the combination of genes was to blame for a 21-percent increase in the risk of heart attack and heart disease and a 34-percent boost in the risk of stroke, officials said.
High blood pressure and hypertension are leading causes of heart disease, heart failure, stroke, kidney failure, and other health problems. Each year worldwide, more than seven million people die from high blood pressure. Common treatments for people with high blood pressure include losing weight, cutting salt and alcohol from the diet, exercising, and taking medications to lower blood pressure.
Study Finds Similar Genetic Variants
The genetic maps of more than 60,000 people were studied in two separate studies with the goal of identifying areas of genes that might be linked to high blood pressure. Researchers found that most people who suffered from high blood pressure had the same 10 genetic variations for systolic and diastolic blood pressure. To the contrary, people who did not have the gene variants had lower blood pressure levels, according to the study.
A Research Breakthrough
The authors of the study heralded the new findings as “exciting new avenues for blood pressure treatments that have not been explored because we had no way of knowing the gene regions were involved in blood pressure regulation.”
The next step? Researchers say they plan to focus on finding how the individual genes in the variants affect blood pressure. Someday, doctors may be able to identify people who, because of their genes, are more susceptible to high blood pressure and implement more effective measured to prevent and treat the condition.
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Posted by Louise Hogberg, s41499782
