Hypertension is one of the most important risk factors for coronary heart disease, heart failure, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases [1]. The number of people with hypertension worldwide has doubled from 1990 to 2019 [2]. High systolic blood pressure was the third-leading health risk and cause of associated deaths in the United States in 2016 [3]. Thus, hypertension is a major public health problem [4].

The pathogenesis of essential hypertension is complex, involving genetics, epigenetics, behavior, and the environment [5]. It is well accepted that dietary factors such as high sodium, high fat, and refined carbohydrates are associated with hypertension [6]. In recent years, the importance of trace elements in the regulation of blood pressure has caught attention [7,8]. Selenium, an essential trace element required for optimal human health, is incorporated into important amino acid derivatives, such as selenocysteine and selenomethionine, which are required for the synthesis selenoproteins [9]. Selenoproteins participate in various important physiological processes, including oxidative stress, inflammation,and immunity [[10], [11], [12]]. However, inadequate selenium may disrupt these processes which are involved in the pathogenesis of hypertension [13,14].

Selenium deficiency is a serious problem worldwide [15]. Due to inadequate intake, 500 million to 1 billion people have selenium deficiency [16]. Approximately 51% of the soil in China is selenium deficient, and 39%–61% of the Chinese population have low daily selenium intake [17]. Selenium deficiency is associated with multiple cardiovascular diseases, including myocardial infarction, heart failure, coronary heart disease, and atherosclerosis [18]. There are a few human epidemiological studies showing a positive association between low serum selenium concentration and essential hypertension, and pregnancy-induced hypertension [[19], [20], [21], [22]]. However, whether selenium deficiency causes hypertension remains unknown. Our present study determined the role and mechanism of selenium deficiency in the pathogenesis of hypertension.