Potential beneficial impact of angiotensin receptor blockers on arterial stiffness in hypertension

Hypertension is highly prevalent worldwide and is one of the major risk factors for cardiovascular and renal diseases. Accumulated results of clinical trials showed that strict control of blood pressure (BP) is essential to prevent target organ damage and to reduce cardiovascular mortality in hypertensive patients. In many countries, major antihypertensive drugs are calcium channel blockers (CCBs), angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs), angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, diuretics, and beta-blockers (including alpha/beta-blockers), according to the international hypertension guidelines (1-5).