Coronary heart disease and cerebrovascular disease continue to be the leading causes of illness and death among adults from developed countries. Their prevalence is strongly related to the effects of many different risk factors, including high blood pressure, cigarette smoking, dyslipidaemia and diabetes. The management of cardiovascular (CV) risk factors should be viewed as an integrated strategy of intervention aimed at correcting as many of the underlying causes of CV disease as possible. Blocking the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system with new, well-tolerated antihypertensive drugs, and blood pressure regulation by means of new drugs that also reduce plasma cholesterol levels or improve insulin resistance and glucose tolerance, could lead to a reduction of CV diseases.