My dad keeps blood pressure and cholesterol in check with regular physical activity (jogging) and watching what he eats. He cooks almost every day. A lot of cooked vegetables and a bit of meat, fish once or twice a week, less salt because so many foods have additional salt snuck in, no processed meats, some fruit, plenty of liquid - he also eats homemade soups, very little coffee, no fried food, no junk.
Green Mediterranean spices like oregano or basil, mustard, garlic, sesame, lemon, allspice, nutmeg, and many many other herbs, are just some ideas how to give more flavor to your food without slathering it in salt, which was his initial problem, he craved salt and was always adding it. This isn't a sprint it's a marathon, so you don't want to be bored with hospital food. If you crave salt, I suggest switching to Himalayan pink salt and see what that does for you. I used to, instead of salting my food, I'd literally dip food into salt, while others watched me in horror. Switching to Himalayan curbed the salt craving significantly, probably because it has 84 minerals.
Excess weight will put additional strain on the heart and leads to the high bp of and in itself. Overwork, smoking, snoring (which is exacerbated in the overweight), all elevate blood pressure. And this isn't just magazine preachy advice, I know this first hand from watching my dad. Lifestyle is very important. He's in great health now when he's paying attention to it and taking care of himself.