Natriuretic peptides (NPs) are molecules that regulate blood pressure by inducing natriuresis and vasodilation. We have shown that higher baseline levels of NT-proBNP are associated with the development of hypertension and humans elevated NT-proBNP levels demonstrate resistance to the action of NPs and are unable to handle high dietary sodium loads. These findings have led us to propose that pre-hypertensive or newly diagnose hypertensive individuals, free of overt cardiovascular disease, who have elevated levels of NT-proBNP will experience a substantial rise in total body water and arterial blood pressure when exposed to a high sodium load. If this hypothesis holds true, then NT-proBNP could be used as a biological marker to identify salt sensitivity and for the prescription of low sodium diets to hypertensive individuals.