I was at the GP ra couple of weeks ago for a unrelated matter. He took a blood pressure reading as they didn't have one on record for the last 5 years (that's because I hadn't been there in 5 years) and he was surprised how high it was. He got me to buy a BP monitor (they are only £20 or so) to get a reading twice a day then pop the results back to him which I will do in the next few days. It's not quite as high as it was in the surgery but it's been consistently in the "mild to moderate" range for hypertension
I'm already losing weight, trying to get more exercise and limiting booze to weekends but it looks like I could be on the way to pill-popping.
My NHS Doc gives you one for free to take a week's readings.