Terror, sorry to hear about your long time friend's passing
My wife Had high blood pressure and they say that a high BP over works your heart to the point of a heart attack.
All these pills with side effect are needed to "help" lower ones BP. Well after some investigation we found a healthy diet and moderate exercise can lower your BP but it takes up to one year. Well she has normal BP now from diet and exercise alone, no daily meds. He doctor was mad she stopped her meds too and didn't offer a lifestyle change. Since I eat what she cooks my BP is even lower than normal and I'm 51.
We bought a 50 buck digital BP machine to keep an eye on our BP's in this house. Heart attacks are huge killers of Americans. Keep an eye on your BP if you want to live a long life is my advise.
(Stock market stress must be the second largest cause of heart attacks, lol)