I went a week with no salt (and serious minimization of dietary sodium), no coffee or caffeine of any sort, adjusted my sleep schedule to be idealized, no alcohol (although I was a minimal consumer already and now am a zero consumer), very little sugar or simple carbs, took potassium supplements, etc. After seven days my BP was just as insane. And while people always have a stereotype of people with hypertension, I've been very active and fit over my entire life.

People are different. Someone who has mild hypertension probably can tweak some lifestyle dials and control it. I had severe hypertension with nothing to point the finger at (e.g. obesity, lifestyle, etc). For whatever reason my body was malfunctioning and in a recursive death loop of escalating hypertension.