At the end of the year 1979 a cross-seccional study on arterial hypertension was carried out in the town of Volta Redonda. Households, as epidemiologic units, were randomically sorted. 650 adults from 20 to 74 years old were examined at home. The current paper describes in detail the methodology used for collecting the information and some of the results are presented. The mean systolic and diastolic pressures were respectively 122.4 ± 0.9 and 70.6 ± 0.7mmHg. The prevalence of hypertension according to the WHO criteria (systolic > 160 and/or diastolic > 95 mmHg) was 10.1 ± 1.3 per cent, considering the effect of the household cluster sampling design. In Volta Redonda higher prevalence of arterial hypertension were found in young and middle-age groups. This probably explains the high mortality ratio by diseases of the cardiovascular system found in the above age groups.
