Genome Study Results May Lead to Genetic Test for Hypertension, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Reveals

Several large international teams of researchers report data in Nature Genetics that more than doubles the number of sites in the human genome tied to blood pressure regulation. One of the studies ("The Genetics of Blood Pressure Regulation and Its Target Organs from Association Studies in 342,415 Individuals") by Johns Hopkins University scientists, in collaboration with many other groups, turned up unexpected hints that biochemical signals controlling blood pressure may spring from within cells that line the blood vessels themselves.