Patients with two or more risk factors have a very high risk of developing cardiovascular disease. It follows that the strategy for the intervention of multiple risk factors is in fact of paramount relevance in detecting patients at high risk of cardiovascular disease requiring therapeutic intervention. The text also discusses risk factors from the point of view of biochemists and pharmacologists by addressing the mechanisms underlying the onset of hypertension, hyperlipoproteinaemia, hypercoagulability and the possibility of therapeutic intervention.