Parents' High BP Increases Risk Of Hypertension In Men

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Washington, Children having either or both parents with hypertension have a significantly increased risk of developing elevated blood pressure throughout their adult lives, according to a new report.

Researchers estimated that between 35 per cent and 65 per cent of high blood pressure was heritable. Nae-Yuh Wang, PhD, and colleagues at the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, assessed hypertension in 1,160 men.

"Men with both parents with hypertension or men with one parent who was hypertensive before the age of 55 years had a much higher risk of developing hypertension, especially at a younger age," the authors wrote in the journal Arch Intern Med.

Early-onset hypertension in both parents was associated with a 6.2-fold higher risk of hypertension at any point in adulthood and a 20-fold higher risk of developing hypertension by age 35.

"Our findings emphasise the importance of asking patients about parental hypertension to identify those who are at high risk of developing hypertension, especially at a young age, for both population-based and individual-level interventions," Ms Wang told Sciencedaily.

"They also underscore the importance of primary prevention and blood-pressure monitoring early in life in men with parental hypertension, especially those who have a parent with early-onset hypertension," she concluded.

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