Summary

The pathogenesis of essencial hypertension involves genetic aspects, that are expressed at molecular, cellular, tissues and all over the body. This genetic expression is conditioned to environmental factors. As genetic factors are preponderant in the hypertension, studies in offspring of hypertensive parents may be useful to elucidate several aspects of its pathogenesis. Studies conducted in offspring of hypertensives are increasing and some finds of pathophysiology of hypertensive patients have been seen in this population. The studies described in this review are related to office blood pressure behavior, ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, beat-to-beat noninvasive blood pressure and response of blood pressure and heart rate to physical and mental stress. Besides, the behavior of blood pressure at rest or during physical and mental stress, others studies have been done in offspring of hypertensive parents. These studies are related to the diet and salt sensibility, intracellular volume, renal hemodynamic, atrial natriuretic factor, intracellular cations concentration and transmembrane cations transport. Several studies related to cardiac and vascular morphology and function were reviewed. Studies involving renin-angiotensin system activity and sympathetic system activity in offspring of hypertensive parents were also reviewed. Finally, we reviewed studies related to metabolic changes in offspring of hypertensive parents. This subject has been object of several researches nowadays. Therefore, the association between hypertension, glucose metabolism alterations (hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance), lipid metabolism alterations (low HDL-cholesterol, high LDL-cholesterol) and central obesity, did not seems to occur incidentally but, it is a result of combined inheritance.