An estimate of arterial compliance--the stroke volume/pulse pressure ratio (SV/PP)--was studied in 801 participants in the Tecumseh Blood Pressure Study, a population-based ongoing cardiovascular, epidemiological investigation. The subjects were normal young adults (mean age 30 +/- 5.6 years) and 373 were females. Cardiac anatomy and function were studied by echo-Doppler methods, blood pressure being measured at the same time by the indirect method. The distribution of the SV/PP ratio was skewed toward higher values in larger subjects. After statistical adjustments for body surface area, this estimate of arterial compliance was found to be higher in females (2.00 +/- 0.62) than in males (1.90 +/- 0.58) (p < 0.05). When subjects were divided into tertiles, the group with the lowest estimated arterial compliance was normotensive but had higher systolic pressure, lower diastolic pressure, a similar mean arterial pressure, higher heart rate and higher left ventricular wall thickness ratio compared to subjects with higher arterial compliance. Indices of systolic ejection decreased and diastolic function was altered in the low compliance subjects. In addition, low compliance subjects also had higher fasting insulin levels. These findings suggest that the low arterial compliance in an otherwise normal population has negative cardiovascular correlates. The early association of decreased arterial compliance with anatomic, functional and biochemical aberrations suggests that estimates of arterial compliance might prove useful for prediction of cardiovascular complications.