Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Lillehei Heart Institute, University of Minnesota, 4-106 NHH, 312 Church Street, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
J Cardiovasc Transl Res. 2012 Jun;5(3):302-8. doi: 10.1007/s12265-012-9362-y. Epub 2012 Apr 11.
The prevalence of hypertension in African Americans in the USA is among the highest in the world and increasing. The identification of genes and pathways regulating blood pressure in African Americans has been challenging. An early predictor of hypertension is arterial stiffness. The prevalence of arterial stiffness is significantly higher in African Americans compared to Caucasians. Approximately 20 % of the variance in arterial stiffness is estimated to be heritable. Identifying genes and biological pathways regulating arterial stiffness may provide insight into the genetics underlying the increased risk of hypertension in African Americans. This paper reviews the genetic findings to date in the area of arterial stiffness and blood pressure in African Americans with an emphasis on the current limitations and new efforts to move the field forward.
美国非裔美国人的高血压患病率位居世界前列，且呈上升趋势。确定调节非裔美国人血压的基因和途径一直具有挑战性。动脉僵硬度是高血压的早期预测指标。与白种人相比，非裔美国人的动脉僵硬度明显更高。据估计，动脉僵硬度的大约 20%可遗传。确定调节动脉僵硬度的基因和生物学途径可能有助于深入了解非裔美国人高血压风险增加的遗传基础。本文回顾了迄今为止在非裔美国人动脉僵硬度和血压领域的遗传发现，重点讨论了当前的局限性和推动该领域发展的新努力。
