Blood pressure and pulse interval are characterized not only by erratic variations but also by rhythmic fluctuations at low-, mid-, and high-frequency (0.025-0.07, 0.07-0.14, and 0.14-0.35 Hz, respectively). However, information on these phenomena has largely been derived from analysis of short-term recordings taken in standardized laboratory conditions. In seven normotensive and 10 untreated mild essential hypertensive subjects, power spectrum analysis was performed on the intra-arterial blood pressure and pulse interval signal collected over a 24-hour period using the fast Fourier transform algorithm and splitting the recording into contiguous segments of 256 beats. About 70% of the segments were suitable for the analysis; the segments excluded for a nonstationary signal amounted to only 30%. All powers were characterized by a high segment-to-segment variability, but in each subject the mid- and high-frequency powers of diastolic blood pressure and the mid-frequency power of systolic blood pressure were markedly reduced during the night as compared with the daytime period, whereas the opposite occurred for the low- and high-frequency powers of the pulse interval. Over the 24-hour period, mid- and high-frequency powers of blood pressure were positively correlated to each other, but both accounted for less than 25% of the 24-hour blood pressure variance. No difference between mean normalized power values of normotensive and hypertensive subjects was observed.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)