Genetics of blood pressure

: Heritability estimates of blood pressure range from 30 to 60%. While monogenic hypertension/ ypotension syndromes are rare, they have provided important information on biological pathways participating in blood pressure regulation. The vast majority of elevated blood pressure cases are, however, "essential hypertension" resulting from multiple genetic and environmental factors. Our knowledge of the genetic background of blood pressure has advanced substantially over the past few years. Large genome-wide association studies have revealed tens of common single nucleotide polymorphisms that associate with blood pressure. Their effects are, however, small and explain only about 2% of the variation of blood pressure even when combined.