Includes bibliographical references and index.

Antihypertensive therapy : past, present, and future -- Evolution of hypertension and hemodynamics -- Evolution of hemodynamic and neuroendocrine changes in the course of hypertension -- Target organs in hypertension : the vascular tree -- The heart -- The kidney -- The brain -- Diuretics -- Beta-blockers -- Alpha1-blockers -- Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors -- Calcium channel blockers -- Rational antihypertensive therapy : overview -- Nonpharmacologic blood pressure reduction -- Treatment of borderline and mild essential hypertension -- Sustained or established hypertension -- Hypertension and target organ disease -- The elderly -- The patient with congestive heart failure -- The patient with coronary heart disease -- The patient with syndrome X : is it linked through the Y chromosome? -- The stroke-prone patient -- The patient with renal failure.