The purpose of this study is to examine the usefulness of blood pressure recovery curves after submaximal exercise in apparently normotensive young adults as an early predictor for hypertension. Twenty-six college age males in 1977, with normal blood pressures at rest, were given the Harvard Step Test and postexercise blood pressures were recorded. Criteria were set that differentiated a hypertensive from a normotensive response to exercise. In 1987 , these individuals were contacted regarding their blood pressure status. Nine out of ten subjects who demonstrated a hypertensive response to exercise in 1977 , now have been given the diagnosis of hypertension. Eleven out of twelve subjects who demonstrated a normotensive response to exercise in 1977, now are still considered to be normotensive. A proposed hypothesis is that during the course of this disease, exercise can unmask hypertension in subjects who have the potential for developing hypertension but currently have a normal resting blood pressure. Am J Hypertens 1989;2:135–138