Background and Objectives : It is wel known that the higher the blod pressure, the greater the chance of cardiovascular disease, but the factors that are responsible for this association remain largely unknown. We sought to determine whether blod pressure, in a dose-dependent way, is associated with systemic inflamation, which is a known risk factor for cardiovascular events. Subjects and Methods : participants, aged 40-65 years, of the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III). We quantified the blod pressure by dividing the participants into the normal, pre-, stage 1 and stage 2 hyper-tension groups based on the JNC (Joint National Comite) 7 clasification. We used multiple linear and logistic regression models to determine the relationship between blood pressure and the levels of inflamatory markers. Results: After adjustments were made for various co-morbidities, participants with stage 2 systolic hypertension had higher circulating leukocyte levels [840/μL (95% confidence interval [CI], 374 to 939/μL)] and fibrinogen levels [24.5 mg/dL (95% CI, 8.9 to 31.9 mg/dL)] than those participants with normal blood pressure. They also showed higher circulating C-reactive protein levels (C-reactive protein>10.0 mg/L: p for trend= 0.001). There was a dose-dependent increase for the circulating levels of the risk factors acros the diferent levels of systolic blood pressure, but not for diastolic blood pressure. Conclusion : These findings demonstrate that an elevated hypertension is a risk factor for atherosclerosis and cardiovascular events. (Korean Circ J 2007 ;37:623-629)