Hypertension
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Recent genome-wide association studies have identified genetic variants associated with blood pressure (BP). We investigated whether genetic risk scores (GRSs) constructed of these variants would predict incident cardiovascular disease (CVD) events. We genotyped 32 common single nucleotide polymorphisms in several Finnish cohorts, with up to 32,669 individuals after exclusion of prevalent CVD cases. ⋯ Hazard ratios comparing the highest quintiles of systolic BP and diastolic BP GRSs with the lowest quintiles after adjustment for age, age squared, and sex were 1.25 (1.07-1.46; P=0.006) and 1.23 (1.05-1.43; P=0.01), respectively, for incident coronary heart disease; 1.24 (1.01-1.53; P=0.04) and 1.35 (1.09-1.66; P=0.005), respectively, for incident stroke; and 1.23 (1.08-1.40; P=2 × 10(-6)) and 1.26 (1.11-1.44; P=5 × 10(-4)), respectively, for composite CVD. In conclusion, BP findings from genome-wide association studies are strongly replicated. GRSs comprising bona fide BP-single nucleotide polymorphisms predicted CVD risk, consistent with a lifelong effect on BP of these variants collectively.