At the dawn of the new decade, it is judicious to reflect on the boom of knowledge about polygenic risk for essential hypertension supplied by the wealth of genome-wide association studies. Hypertension continues to account for significant cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, with increasing prevalence anticipated. Here, we overview recent advances in the use of big data to understand polygenic hypertension, as well as opportunities for future innovation to translate this windfall of knowledge into clinical benefit.