Practical applicability of genetics for the prevention and treatment of hypertension

Zou and colleagues are publishing in this issue of The Journal of Clinical Hypertension, result of one of their studies in which they found that human corin genetic polymorphisms is involved in blood pressure control, more specifically in salt sensitivity. It is being published in this journal shortly after a literature review indicated another 18 genes were also involved in salt sensitivity, however corin gene. This dynamism of newly discovered genes shows the complexity of studying the genetic control of arterial hypertension and explains its known preliotropic characteristic. In this commentary, the study by Zou and colleagues is placed in the context of recent evidence on the genetics of high blood pressure and the future perspectives resulting from this and other studies are presented in the context of the clinical application of genetics in the prevention and treatment of high blood pressure.