Which type of drug is used to treat hypertension and angina by dilating blood vessels?

Calcium channel blockers are effective in treating hypertension and angina primarily by relaxing the smooth muscles in the blood vessel walls, leading to vasodilation. This mechanism helps to decrease vascular resistance, subsequently lowering blood pressure. In patients with angina, these drugs reduce the workload on the heart by improving blood flow to the heart muscle, which alleviates symptoms associated with angina attacks.

Statins focus on cholesterol levels and are not primarily indicated for lowering blood pressure or treating angina through vasodilation. ACE inhibitors target the renin-angiotensin system to reduce blood pressure but do not directly cause vasodilation of blood vessels in the same way calcium channel blockers do. Beta-blockers primarily work by reducing heart rate and contractility, which helps in angina management, but they do not directly induce vasodilation like calcium channel blockers. Thus, the specific property of blood vessel dilation makes calcium channel blockers the correct choice for the presented question.