Sodium-potassium cotransport activity as genetic marker in essential hypertension.

Sodium-potassium cotransport activity is thought to be defective in essential hypertension and could be a useful genetic marker for susceptibility to essential hypertension. In this study cotransport activity in subjects with hypertension was compared with that in normotensive controls. The effects of ethnic differences, environment, and antihypertensive drugs were also studied. Mean cotransport activity was lower in hypertensive subjects than in controls of the same ethnic groups. There was, however, a large overlap between controls and hypertensive subjects. No ethnic or environmental influences were found. The large overlap found suggests that sodium-potassium cotransport activity is not a useful genetic marker in essential hypertension.