The document classifies drugs used to treat hypertension into 9 categories based on their mechanisms of action. These categories include drugs that act centrally, on autonomic ganglia, on postganglionic sympathetic nerve endings, on adrenergic receptors, directly on vascular smooth muscle, as potassium channel activators, by blocking the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone axis, oral diuretics, and miscellaneous drugs. Examples are provided for each category of antihypertensive drugs.