To assess the prevalence and the levels of awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension in the rural population of Greece, a cross-sectional survey of the total population age > or =18 years of the village Didima was conducted. The survey included an interview and blood pressure (BP) measurement on two clinic visits. Hypertension was defined as systolic BP > or = 140 mm Hg and or diastolic BP > or = 90 mm Hg or current treatment with antihypertensive drugs. The same BP threshold was used for the assessment of hypertension control. A total of 694 inhabitants participated (response rate 76.4%), and 665 were analyzed. The prevalence of hypertension was 28.4% (men 30.2%, women 27.1%). Of the subjects age > or =65 years, 50% had hypertension. Although 73% of participants were measuring their BP at least once a year, overall, 39.2% of hypertensives were unaware of the diagnosis (men 50%, women 30.5%), 6.3% were aware but not treated (men 4.8%, women 7.6%), 27.5% were treated but not controlled (men 22.6%, women 31.4%), and 27% were treated and controlled (men 22.6%, women 30.5%). These results suggest that, in the rural population of Greece, hypertension is a common risk factor with considerable potential for improvement in levels of control.