Relevance of Personalized Health Care in Patients with Arterial Hypertension: Where are we now?

Abstract

Personalized health care (PHC) or precision medicine is a new medical concept that aids in treatment decisions for patients by tailoring them to their individual needs. It often employs genetic testing to select appropriate and optimal therapies (pharmacogenomics). Although this concept is widely applied in oncology, the field of hypertension is still in the early stages and "personalization" is currently limited to tailoring antihypertensive treatment according to age, comorbidities, and ethnicity. Despite the fact that incomplete/lack of treatment response occurs in 10-30% of hypertensive patients for angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and in 15-25% for β-blockers, major continental guidelines still recommend the use of antihypertensive agents in a "onesize-fits-all" approach, neglecting the 1977 postulation of the Joint National Committee that "all patients must receive individualized therapy programs." The arrival of molecular testing offers new possibilities to differentiate monogenetic from polygenetic disorders and to identify associations between hypertension and drug response to corresponding genes. Up to 50% of the variation in blood pressure (BP) is attributable to genetic factors. Polymorphisms have been identified and studied in genes for BPmodifying receptors, such as ADBR (β-adrenergic receptors), and pharmacological pathways (GNB3, RAAS system). Approximately, one-quarter of the currently analyzed gene polymorphisms demonstrate significant pharmacogenetic effects (ADD1 Gly460Trp and the insertion/deletion [I/D] polymorphism in intron 16 of the ACE gene). Several large screening studies are currently ongoing to assess the impact on efficacy of antihypertensive medication of variants in hypertension-susceptibility genes. The GenHAT substudy of the Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial (ALLHAT) assessed the predictive validity of the ACE I/D genotype for coronary heart disease. The Family Blood Pressure Program included 11,079 participants to map genetic variants associated with hypertension. In this review chapter, we display the current body of knowledge regarding PHC in the treatment of hypertension. In particular, we highlight genetic variants associated with hyperten