Inheritance of high blood pressure

Abstract

Let me begin by reminding you of two elementary facts, usually overlooked when this question is discussed. The first concerns the definition of essential hypertension. Essential hypertension represents no more than elevated blood pressure without a known cause, and the consequences of the raised pressure. Despite what anyone may say at this gathering, any division between normal and elevated pressure is purely arbitrary. There is no unequivocal evidence known to me for any natural division. The artificiality of a division into normal and raised pressure is further emphasized by the diurnal fluctuation of blood pressure which all subjects experience, though some more than others. The second elementary fact is that blood pressure is a quantity and should be studied as a quantity by the accepted methods of biometrics.