Genotypic and Phenotypic Heterogeneity—Hurdles and Opportunities in the Quest for Hypertension-Related Genes

<span class="paragraphSection">Although family studies suggest that hypertension heritability is in the range of 30–40%, genome-wide association studies in large populations have identified specific genetic variants that account for only 3–4% of blood pressure variability and hypertension.^{<a href="#CIT0001" class="reflinks">1</a>} It is likely that a myriad of issues contribute to this "heritability gap"^{<a href="#CIT0002" class="reflinks">2</a>} (<a href="#T1" class="reflinks">Table 1</a>). Furthermore, as articulated by Pickering over half a century ago, "..the practice of making a sharp distinction between normal and pathologically high pressure is entirely arbitrary and is in the nature of artifact. Essential hypertension represents the upper end of a distribution curve showing continuous variation, with no definite evidence of two populations.^{<a href="#CIT0003" class="reflinks">3</a>}"</span>

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