Warning over inherited hypertension

Patients who have one or two parents with hypertension have a significantly increased risk of developing high blood pressure during adult life, a study has shown.

Early-onset hypertension was 20 times more likely in patients where both parents had the condition before the age of 35.

Findings were based on a study of 1,160 men who first filled in questionnaires about their blood pressure in 1947 and were followed up each year for 54 years.

Authors wrote: '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.'

Archives of Internal Medicine (2008) 168:643-648