Abstract

Blood pressure (BP), hypertension (HT) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) are common complex phenotypes, which are affected by multiple genetic and environmental factors. This article describes recent genome-wide association studies (GWAS) that have reported causative variants for BP/HT and CVD/heart traits and analyzes the overlapping associated gene polymorphisms. It also examines potential replication of findings from the HyperGEN data on African Americans and whites. Several genes involved in BP/HT regulation also appear to be involved in CVD. A better picture is emerging, with overlapping hot-spot regions and with interconnected pathways between BP/HT and CVD. A systemic approach to full understanding of BP/HT and CVD development and their progression to disease may lead to the identification of gene targets and pathways for the development of novel therapeutic interventions.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)46-54
Number of pages9
JournalCurrent Hypertension Reports
Volume13
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2011

Keywords

  • Blood pressure
  • Cardiovascular disease
  • GWAS
  • Genome-wide association studies
  • Hypertension
  • Pathways
  • SNPs
  • Single nucleotide polymorphisms

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