Any audiophile who is on blood pressure medication

I've been monitoring and dealing with a tendency to hypertension for many years. For the last eight, I've been using TCM (traditional chinese medicine) with generally successful results. Prior to using TCM, my pressures were high all the time, now they generally stay within the healthy range. My pressure tends to be more unstable than consistently high, so I have to monitor it constantly to keep an idea of the real pattern. The biggest downside to using acupuncture and herbal therapy is the cost, insurance won't pay a red cent. My primary care physician was convinced it was uncontrolled and had me wear a 24 hour monitor. This convinced him I really was having "white coat fever." Of course, the question is how often is the b.p. of reactive patients is elevated because of stress. Because of the side effects and quality of life issues, my primary care m.d. is very reluctant to start patients on b.p. medicine unless he is convinced the average b.p. values are above 135/85 in someone without other symptoms like elevated lipids, being overweight, etc. Note: on average! This is why it's important for one to be responsible for self monitoring IMO. Readings in the doctors office may not be indicative of your total situation.

Only about half of us are sodium sensitive to the point it has much bearing on blood pressure from what I've read. If you're among that half, it's a total pain to try and keep your sodium intake as low as it should be if you eat anything out of a package or from a restaurant. I know it does influence my bp to a degree, as does too much meat and alcohol. Modern western lifestyles are a huge contributor to the epidemic of high blood pressure.