Early 24-hour blood pressure elevation in normotensive subjects with parental hypertension 
 Subjects with a family history of parental hypertension are reported to have a slightly higher office blood pressure in the prehypertensive stage.
 Whether this reflects a hyperreactivity to blood pressure measurement or a more permanent blood pressure elevation, however, is not known.
 In the present study, blood pressure was measured in 15 normotensive subjects whose parents are both hypertensive (FH++), 15 normotensive subjects with one hypertensive parent (FH(+)-), and 15 normotensive subjects whose parents are not hypertensive (FH--); among the three groups, subjects were matched for age, sex, and body mass index.
 The measurements were made in the office during a variety of laboratory stressors and during a prolonged resting period, and for a 24-hour period (ambulatory blood pressure monitoring).
 Office blood pressure was higher in the FH++ group than in the FH-- group (p less than 0.05).
 The pressor responses to laboratory stressors were similar in the two groups, but the FH++ group had higher prolonged resting and 24-hour blood pressure than the FH-- group; the difference was always significant (p less than 0.05) for systolic blood pressure.
 The FH++ group also had a greater left ventricular mass index (on echocardiographic examination) than the FH-- group (p less than 0.01).
 The blood pressure values and echocardiographic values of the FH(+)- group tended to be between those of the other two groups.
 Thus, the higher blood pressure shown by individuals in the prehypertensive stage with a family history of parental hypertension does not reflect a hyperreactivity to stress but an early permanent blood pressure elevation.
