In this research the digital and palmar dermatoglyphics of a sample of 97 individuals from Sardinia affected by essential hypertension were examined with the aim of identifying possible peculiarities. As already observed by other authors, the tendency towards a distal position of the axial triradius, a dermatoglyphic characteristic common in many pathologies, was also confirmed in our sample. Furthermore, some characteristics not observed in previous works which are distinctive to hypertensive subjects of both sexes are identified: a transversal tendency of the ridges and a greater asymmetry of the TRC (total ridge count). The asymmetry of the TRC is usually explained as a consequence of disturbances during embryologic development; in our case these disturbances seem to be represented by changes in arterial pressure levels originating during the prenatal period.