Vascular remodeling and hypertrophy-hyperplasia of the heart and kidney are the hallmarks of hypertensions, being involved in the long-term maintenance of elevated blood pressure and the development of cardiovascular and renal hypertension. Both augmented proliferation and unscheduled programmed cell death (apoptosis) contribute to this phenomenon. In the present article, we summarize the results of these studies with an emphasis on the relative impact of genetic determinants and the environment.
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