Hypertension ? or just anxiety

I'm a 36 year old male 5'7 170 lb.  i only drink occasionally (twice a month) but am a smoker pack a day. i had a stress test done for chest pains and echo as well. was told by doc that both stress and echo are normal. no signs of blockages and heart muscle seems normal. i read the report however and it says that my interior septal wall is 1.1 which sometimes is considered mild left hypertrophy? but then i was told this may be a normal for me. either way. these tests were done 3 weeks ago. my cholestrol is slightly high but this last year my triglicerides (triglycerides) went up higher then usual up to 300. about a week ago  i went to the ER because my blood pressure went up to 180/95 or something.   i was seen in the ER ekg done and blood and sent home and told that it was panic attack.  i have had panic attacks for many many many years but i never remember my blood pressure being so affected by them.

Since the hospital visit my blood pressure has been weird and i've been checking it numerous times a day. its usually around 125/85 throughout the day also i have to mention i have ALWAYS had a high resting pulse like 85-105 bpm usually. mostly in the 90's though.

here is my concern. my bp at waking up in the morning for the last few days has been high. especially my diastolic.  its usually about 135/93 then after like half hour it slowly subsides to like 125/85  .  

-what does this mean?

-i'm especially concerned about my diastolic number being high in the morning. one morning upon waking it was even as high as 97 with the systolic being like 138 or something

- i read somewhere that morning hypertension is a precursor to a stroke and heart attack does this apply to someone like me as well age and weight and such?

- i am gettng a sleep study done soon because i'm almost convinced i have sleep apnea, can sleep apnea cause this to happen to me?

- failed to mention i wake with headaches almost daily and eyes red does this have anything to do with the hypertension?

- i'm also dizzy a lot seems like i have some pain from the back of my neck (herniated disk in neck) and when i move my head fast sometimes makes me dizzy (this is also a recent occurance) , is this also connected to the slight or borderline or morning hypertension? or just anxiety?  (dizziness happens at any given time during the day)

- can possible anxiety in my sleep shoot my bp up to numbers like 138/95 upon waking? is this dangerous ? can this be sleep apnea? gotta mention again after waking takes about 20 - 30 minutes and the bp goes back to "my" "normal" which is like 125/84 or something

- last question --  i started to fast walk about 2 miles a day for the past 2 weeks to get exersize. is this a good idea? should i walk everyday ? or every other day ? which is better for heart ? to give rest between days or walk everyday?

thank you in advance for your help

[Encephalomalcia]

Blood pressure should be 120/72 to be perfect.  Even your normal blood pressure reading during the daytime is on the high side.  Ask your doctor about starting on some blood pressure medicine.  The new way of treating high blood pressure is to take a water pill which brings down the blood pressure.  If the blood pressure stays high for years, it can wear the heart muscle out so it is important to start some blood pressure medicine.