Summary:Essential hypertension—The starting point for improved drug treatment.Hypertension is a common disease and plays an important role as a potentially remediable contributor to cardiovascular causes of death in the community. In moderate to severe hypertension recent treatment has improved morbidity and mortality substantially, but it is disappointing that despite this myocardial infarction still stands as an important cause of death. In this regard it is encouraging that beta adrenergic blockade may be useful not only in lowering blood pressure, but also possibly in reducing independently the risk of myocardial infarction and/or sudden death in some patients. In mild hypertension the number of patients is large and the possible beneficial effect of treatment less well‐established, so that there is a clear need for further research in order to define patients at relatively high risk in this gr