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Lifestyle May Counter Blood Pressure Genes

The new report shows that different lifestyles and socioeconomic status influence the effect of inherited genetic patterns.

About 15 percent of the variation in diastolic blood pressure, the lower of the two numbers in a blood pressure reading, is because of genes, Franceschini said. The study linked the effects of three behavioral traits -- drinking, smoking and exercise -- with that of the genes. It also looked at education level, a socioeconomic factor.

The study found that genes for high blood pressure have a greater effect in smokers than nonsmokers, Franceschini said. It also found a similar effect for physical exercise. And it found that blood pressure among drinkers is affected by different genes than in people who quit drinking or never drank.

"Our study shows a comprehensive effect across multiple behaviors," she said.

The findings help answer whether genes alone determine high blood pressure, said Dr. Richard A. Stein, a professor of medicine and director of the urban community cardiology program at New York University and a spokesman for the American Heart Association.

"The answer is, not by a long shot," Stein said.