Aim. To investigate the blood pressure (BP) reaction to public speaking performed according to different emotionally distressing scenarios in stage 1 hypertension. Methods. We assessed 64 hypertensive and 30 normotensive subjects. They performed three speech tasks with neutral, anger and anxiety scenarios. BP was assessed with the Finometer beat-to-beat non-invasive recording system throughout the test procedure. Results. For all types of speech, the systolic BP response was greater in the hypertensive than the normotensive subjects (all p