[Skip to Navigation]
Sign In
Viewpoint
January 26, 2016

Ushering Hypertension Into a New Era of Precision Medicine

Author Affiliations
  • 1Department of Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
  • 2Center of Systems Molecular Medicine, Department of Physiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
JAMA. 2016;315(4):343-344. doi:10.1001/jama.2015.18359

Approximately 80 million US adults have hypertension, and hypertension remains a leading risk factor for stroke and cardiovascular disease.1 In 2009-2010, 48% of treated hypertensive patients in the United States were taking more than 1 drug, and blood pressure remained uncontrolled among 40% of those receiving drug treatment.1 Current guidelines for prevention and treatment of hypertension are based on observational studies in populations and clinical trials in large groups of patients. Precision medicine and epigenetics are 2 emerging and complementary strategies that have the potential to alter clinical approaches to understanding and treating hypertension. Both approaches have the goal of more effective hypertension control by providing personalized targets for preventive and therapeutic interventions.

Add or change institution
×