The discussion seems unduly focused on lipids, whereas I would think that blood pressure would be a, if not the, primary concern.

Also for those who do take blood pressure medication: never quickly change the dosage, and especially never quit taking it w/o supervision!

I've seen several untimely deaths b/c someone ran out of their BP medication and could not get to a pharmacist quickly enough. Alternatively the person became irritated with the medication and simply stopped taking it.

Maybe part of starting BP medication should be the doctor giving you a "safety package" that includes a full month's worth of the drug and is to be put on a shelf somewhere where you can get to it should your usual prescription run out.