In recent years there has been increased discussion about goals of antihypertensive therapy other than blood pressure reduction. The development of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors has provided a class of drugs with a very low side-effect profile. However, single-drug therapy is effective in only about half of hypertensive patients. In the past, diuretics have traditionally been used as the initial or second antihypertensive. Increasingly, diuretic therapy is being avoided, and other antihypertensive combinations are being used. In controlled trials, combination converting enzyme inhibitor-diuretic therapy is effective in about 85% of patients. This synergistic combination allows the diuretic dose to be reduced so that the adverse effects and metabolic complications are minimized. At this time, the combination of converting enzyme inhibitor and diuretic provides an ideal choice in terms of efficacy, compliance, side effects, and cost.