A gene that determines how the kidneys process salt may help determine a person's risk of high blood pressure, a discovery that could lead to better ways to treat the condition. People with a common variant of the gene STK39 tend to have higher blood pressure levels and are more likely to develop full-blown high blood pressure, also called hypertension, found researchers from the University of Maryland's School of Medicine.

They identified the gene's role in high blood pressure susceptibility by analysing the genes of 542 people in the insular Old Order Amish community in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The researchers confirmed the findings by looking at the genes of another group of Amish people as well as four other groups of white people in the US and Europe.

About 20 per cent of the people studied had either one or two copies of this particular variant, the researchers said. The gene produces a protein involved in regulating the way the kidneys process salt in the body -- a key factor in determining blood pressure, the researchers said.

Yen-Pei Christy Chang, who led the study appearing in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, said the findings could lead to the development of new high blood pressure drugs targeting the activity of STK39.

“What we hope is that by understanding STK39 we can use that information for personalised medicine, so we can actually predict which hypertensive patients should be on what class of medication and know that they will respond well and have minimal risk for side effects,” Chang said. People with high blood pressure are more likely to develop heart attacks, heart failure, strokes and kidney disease.

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