Angiotensin II receptor antagonists and hypertension

Over recent years, a number of imidazole derivatives that specifically bind to the angiotensin II type 1 receptor, therafter called sartans, have been developed and made available to the clinician. Whether targeting antihyper tensive treatment with such a high specificity within the renin cascade may carry major clinical advantage over inhibiting angiotensin converting-enzy me remains to be demonstrated. In short-term studies, the efficacy of these drugs at reducing blood pressure was similar to that of established compar ators, whereas overall side effect profile was comparable to that of placeb o.