Patients with hypertension do not comprise a homogeneous group, and the majority present with a variety of concomitant and associated conditions. Antihypertensive therapies should therefore be effective and well tolerated in a wide range of patients and should, ideally, ameliorate the negative target-organ effects of hypertension, such as atherosclerosis, cardiovascular remodelling and renal impairment. Evidence is accumulating that the new angiotensin II type 1 receptor blocker, candesartan cilexetil, lowers blood pressure effectively and is well tolerated in a variety of patient groups, including women and the elderly. In patients with severe hypertension, a treatment schedule based on candesartan cilexetil, with the addition of diuretic and calcium antagonist therapy as needed, has been found to control blood pressure successfully. Candesartan cilexetil does not affect glucose tolerance or lipid profiles in patients with diabetes mellitus, and it is not associated with any of the side effects of other antihypertensive agents that would make it unsuitable for use in patients with pulmonary disease. Initial clinical studies have indicated that candesartan cilexetil is well tolerated and effective in patients with heart failure. Furthermore, the available evidence shows that treatment with candesartan cilexetil can reverse the negative effects of hypertension on left ventricular hypertrophy and microalbuminuria. It therefore appears that the pronounced efficacy and placebo-like tolerability of candesartan cilexetil, as demonstrated in large clinical trials of patients with mild to moderate hypertension, can be extended to a wide range of specific patient groups.