Two international studies have identified a treasure trove of genes linked to high blood pressure. "In one fell swoop, to find so many genes related to blood pressure is one great opportunity," said the lead author of one of the studies, Dr. Christopher Newton-Cheh. His team analyzed genetic data collected at 93 centers across the United States and Europe from 130,000 individuals. "These findings advance the biology of blood pressure regulation," added Dr. Daniel Levy. He led a second study which gathered genetic data on 29,000 people in the United States and elsewhere. The new findings "could lead to better predictions of who is likely to develop hypertension," he said. Hypertension is a leading risk factor for cardiovascular problems like heart attack and stroke. "It is still very difficult to treat high blood pressure and new leads for new genes that we can target are sorely needed," Newton-Cheh said. Researchers in both studies looked at variations in the sequences of DNA molecules which make up the human genome. They focused on single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with blood pressure differences. Newton-Cheh stated that in the two studies 13 gene regions not previously associated with blood pressure were identified. "Several of their gene regions overlap with ours," he said. "Five were unique to one study, five were unique to the other and three gene regions were found in both." Newton-Cheh and Levy opined that identifying those regions is just a first step toward better prevention and treatment of high blood pressure. Levy also added that one reason is that each of the regions may individually exert only a small effect on blood pressure. "Each of the risk variants changes systolic blood pressure by 1 millimeter and diastolic pressure by one-half millimeter," he said. Systolic blood pressure is the higher number in a blood pressure reading while diastolic the lower number. "But it is possible that there are genes that have a profound effect on blood pressure in these regions," Levy said. "Digging more deeply could identify variants in these genes that have larger effects on blood pressure." "One can do work with animals that can't be done with humans," Levy said. Human trials can also help, Newton-Cheh said. "I am planning studies of people to understand which genes affect blood pressure and how," he said. "My group, among others, will try to identify a small number of people who have strong mutations. Those people are of great interest." Newton-Cheh hopes that drug companies will be drawn into the genetic research effort by the lure of profits from more effective blood pressure treatments. "They have lots of things on their shelves, and this offers potential leads for testing compounds that could lead to drugs," he said. Newton-Cheh stated that even though research goes on, it is too early to recommend genetic screening for high blood pressure, said. "From the data we have now, there is no way we could advocate that people be tested," he said. "It will require some work to prove how genes affect blood pressure."