Dissecting hypertension: the role of the 'new genetics'

The tools of molecular genetics have recently been applied to hypertension, a common multifactorial disorder, with some success. Glucocorticoid-suppressible hyperaldosteronism, an inherited form of human hypertension due to the dominant inheritance of a chimaeric steroid 11 beta-hydroxylase/aldosterone synthase gene, has given an insight into the possible genetic factors involved in essential hypertension. Study of the aldosterone synthase and steroid 11 beta-hydroxylase genes has shown the presence of polymorphisms in both of these genes in human subjects; further studies may demonstrate genetic mutations with pathophysiological effects in patients with essential hypertension.