In 1976 a blood pressure survey was conducted in Isiuwa village to determine the prevalence of hypertension in a rural Nigerian community and the effect of reexamination of those subjects who were hypertensive at the primary screening. Out of the 2082 subjects aged 15-59 yr examined at the primary screening, 123 (5.9%) were hypertensive and when these 123 hypertensive subjects were reexamined 8-12 wk later, only 44 (2.1%) subjects remained hypertensive. The phenomenon responsible for the reduction in yield of hypertensives is thought a real one in studies of apparently health populations. This phenomenon does not diminish the prognostic significance of a casual elevation of blood pressure. The prevalence of hypertension is low in the community studied and some factors which may favorably affect blood pressures are discussed. The low prevalence of hypertension among the highly parous women in this community is similar to that found in a study among some rural Ghanaians but different to studies among some rural communities in Nigeria.