Genetics may play a larger role in the future of hypertension treatment. This, after a recent study showed large differences in how patients responded to certain common high blood pressure medicines. Writing in a recent issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, Dr. Donna Arnett and colleagues from the University of Alabama report that they identified major differences in the response to calcium channel blockers and diuretics based on variations in a specific gene.

The gene, which is responsible for the production of a blood-pressure-influencing compound called atrial natriuretic precursor A (NPAA), comes in several variations, called subtypes. Researchers found that people with the more common subtype of the gene responded much better to a calcium channel blocker than they did to a diuretic. That is, the calcium channel blocker was more effective at reducing their blood pressure. In people with other subtypes of the gene, though, the diuretic was more effective.

These results reinforce a growing idea in medicine - that the future of treatment will likely be more specifically tailored to specific patients' genetic traits. An increasingly large body of evidence demonstrates that this individualized approach often yields better results for lower costs.

Both researchers and policy makers caution that more investigation is needed before tailored therapy becomes mainstream.

Related: Diuretics, Calcium Channel Blockers