Editorial Commentary Leukocyte Telomere Length, Hypertension, and Atherosclerosis Are There Potential Mechanistic Explanations?

In this issue of Hypertension, Yang et al1 report thatleukocyte telomere length (LTL) is shorter in hypertensive patients than in their normotensive peers. What’s more, after 5 years of follow-up, the authors observed that hypertensive patients with short LTL were more likely to develop atheroscle-rotic coronary artery disease, whereas normotensive persons with short LTL were more likely to become hypertensive. Several features of this study merit attention. First, the study was conducted in a Chinese cohort, whereas the information we have about the relationships between LTL and cardiovascular risks is primarily derived from white populations. Second, the size of the cohort (388 hypertensive and 379 normotensive persons) and the meticulous attention devoted to characterizing hypertension lend credibility to the findings. Third, the 5-year follow-up period provided the opportunity to explore the potential cardiovascular ramifica