Treatment of hypertensive patients should include not only effective blood pressure lowering therapy, but assessment of total cardiovascular risk, diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular risk factors and coexistent diseases as well. Physicians should help their patients to achieve satisfactory weight reduction and smoking cessation by using non-pharmacological methods and when they are not sufficient by initiating pharmacological treatment. Many hypertensives can take advantage of lipid lowering therapy with statins and antiplatelet agents should be considered in patients with high or very high cardiovascular risk. Hypertensives with diabetes mellitus need a special therapeutic approach.