genetic factors

Last reviewed 01/2018

Genetic factors are thought to be important in essential hypertension, inheritance being multigenic:

• twins show a greater concordance than spouses

• twin studies indicate that up to 60% of the variability in blood pressure is related to inheritable factors

• close relative of patients with a blood pressure 50 mm Hg above the mean, themselves have a blood pressure on average 14 mm Hg above the mean