ABSTRACT
Essential hypertension is a typical example of a complex, heterogeneous, polygenic trait.1 Multiple genes and at least several environmental factors (such as alcohol consumption or lack of physical activity) interact together contributing to high blood pressure. The contribution of genetic factors to blood pressure variation is estimated to be about 30%. However, the number of loci responsible for essential hypertension, precise mechanisms of gene-gene and gene-environment interactions, as well as the functional significance of these effects at a protein level are not known. Although the pathogenesis of high blood pressure has not been elucidated fully yet, the achievements of cardiovascular genetics should not be underestimated.
