A team of researchers has identified a gene variant that may make people more prone to hypertension, according to research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The STK39 gene variant, which was found to raise blood pressure in people who carry it, was discovered after scanning the genetic code of hundreds of individuals across the United States and the European continent. It was finally found in found in members of the genetically homogeneous Old Order Amish community in Pennsylvania, but it is only carried by approximately 1 in five white Americans. Researchers looked at 542 members of the Amish community.

"This can help us find the best medication for hypertension in individual cases," said Yen-Pei Christy Chang, assistant professor of medicine, epidemiology and preventive medicine at the University of Maryland, who conduced the research.
 
High blood pressure (HBP), also called hypertension, is a major risk factor for cardiovascular issues such as heart attack and stroke. The medical condition occurs when a person’s blood pressure is chronically elevated. An estimated 73 million people in the United States aged 20 and older have hypertension. In 2004, HBP killed more than 54,700 Americans. About 30 percent of sufferers are unaware of their condition, according to the American Heart Association.

"The things you learn from your parents in terms of lifestyle and habits will probably have as much effect on your chances of developing hypertension as the genes they pass down to you," said Mike Rich, the executive director of the Blood Pressure Association.