P revious animal studies have demonstrated that the loss of the β₁ subunit of the large-conductance Ca²⁺-activated K⁺ (BK) channel leads to hypertension. A new study demonstrates that a gain in β₁ subunit function is associated with protection against diastolic hypertension in humans, underscoring the importance of the β₁ subunit and the BK channel in the regulation of vascular resistance.