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HowToPreventHeartDisease.com |
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What Is the Key Gene that Linked to Hypertension? Hypertension, or also known as high blood pressure, is a condition in which one’s blood pressure is consistently at 140/90 or above. 140/90 stands for 140 mm Hg systolic or 90 mm Hg diastolic. The normal blood pressure for a healthy person should not exceed 120/80. When one’s blood pressure is between 120/80 and 139/89, he or she is said to have pre-hypertension. People with high blood pressure are at a higher risk of developing heart attack, heart failure, kidney disease and stroke. A recent study on genes has found that people with a common variant of the gene called STK39 are more likely to have high blood pressure levels and are at a higher chance of getting hypertension. Researchers from University of Maryland School of Medicine reported on December 29, 2008 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that STK39 affects how the kidney process salt and may help determine a person’s risk of high blood pressure. Such discovery will no doubt assist doctors to find out better ways to treat the condition.
In the study, the genes of 542 people in the insular Old Order Amish community in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania were analyzed. The findings were then confirmed with the genes of another group of Amish people as well as 4 other groups of white people in the United States and Europe. It was found that about 20 percent of the people studied had either 1 or 2 copies of this particular variant. According to the researchers, the gene produces a protein that involved in regulating the way the kidneys process salt in the body, which is a key factor in determining blood pressure. Such findings will provide a way to help scientists develop new high blood pressure drugs targeting the activity of STK39. Using the information on STK39, doctors can personalize medication by prescribing appropriate drugs to different classes of their patients knowing that they will respond well and have minimal risk for side effects. However, the researchers also pointed out that besides STK39, there are several other genes that might be involved. It is important to know that there are many factors including lack of exercise, being overweight, smoking and too much salt in the diet are involved in high blood pressure. Ddiuretics, beta blockers, ACE inhibitors, and calcium channel blockers are just a few of the many medications used to treat high blood pressure. Since the effectiveness of each of these medications does vary from person to person, it is rather difficult for doctors to ascertain which is best for a particular patient. It is the hope of researchers to find out how people with different versions of this gene respond to the different kinds of medicines and to lifestyle intervention like cutting the amount of salt in diet.
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