This study investigated whether subjects with permanent activated endothelium have altered soluble forms of intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (sICAM-1) and vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (sVCAM-1) postprandial response to a high-fat meal and whether this phenomenon is modulated by the nature of dietary fats. Twenty-eight hypertriglyceridemic (14 normotensives and 14 hypertensives) and 14 healthy male subjects were placed in a randomized and crossover design on diets enriched in refined olive oil (ROO) or high-palmitic sunflower oil (HPSO) for a 1-week lead-in period. Thereafter, subjects ate the corresponding fat-rich meal as a breakfast and underwent sampling hourly for 8 h. Plasma triglycerides (TG), sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1 were assayed. sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1 postprandial peak levels were significantly higher and occurred later in hypertriglyceridemic subjects (all P<.001) compared with healthy subjects. ROO meal resulted in smaller areas under the curve for sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1 in hypertriglyceridemic (normotensive and hypertensive) and healthy subjects compared to HPSO meal. Hypertension did not aggravate the postprandial response of TG, sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1. We conclude that the challenge of a meal with ROO appears to have a significant postprandial benefit on sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1 as surrogate markers of endothelial activation and vascular inflammation in healthy and more importantly in hypertriglyceridemic (normotensive and hypertensive) subjects.