The disease is controllable if you commit to all three pillars
Lo que alguna vez fue considerado una enfermedad del envejecimiento ha comenzado a reclamar cuerpos más jóvenes, impulsado no por los años acumulados sino por las elecciones cotidianas. En el Día Mundial de la Hipertensión, el Dr. Dreny Alba González observa desde sus consultorios en la región Vargas cómo el sedentarismo, la mala alimentación, el tabaco y el alcohol han desplazado a la edad como principal factor de riesgo. La hipertensión ya no espera a que envejezcamos para encontrarnos; nos encuentra en los hábitos que construimos cada día.
- La hipertensión está apareciendo en pacientes cada vez más jóvenes, rompiendo la creencia de que es una enfermedad reservada para adultos mayores.
- El peligro radica en su silencio: sin síntomas evidentes, el daño al corazón, cerebro, riñones y visión avanza sin avisar hasta que ya es tarde.
- Los hábitos modernos —comida procesada, bebidas azucaradas, inactividad física, alcohol y tabaco— se han convertido en los verdaderos motores de esta epidemia silenciosa.
- Médicos como Alba González insisten en tres pilares inseparables: medicación, dieta ajustada y ejercicio regular, sin los cuales el control de la enfermedad es ilusorio.
- La medición frecuente de la presión arterial —disponible gratuitamente en muchas farmacias— se convierte en el primer acto de responsabilidad personal frente a esta amenaza invisible.
La hipertensión solía ser cosa de padres y abuelos, una señal del tiempo acumulado en el cuerpo. Esa certeza ya no se sostiene. El Dr. Dreny Alba González, internista con consulta en dos centros médicos de la región Vargas, ha visto cómo el perfil de sus pacientes hipertensos se ha transformado: hoy llegan jóvenes con cifras elevadas, y la causa no es el paso de los años sino la forma en que viven.
El 17 de mayo, Día Mundial de la Hipertensión, llega cargado de urgencia. Donde antes se diagnosticaba la enfermedad en adultos de 35 a 40 años, ahora se presenta en personas mucho más jóvenes. Alba González señala directamente a los hábitos: sedentarismo, alimentación deficiente, tabaco y alcohol. La genética sigue siendo un factor —tener padres o abuelos hipertensos eleva el riesgo— pero los factores adquiridos, los que sí se pueden modificar, se han vuelto dominantes.
La enfermedad avanza en silencio. Cuando aparecen síntomas como dolores de cabeza, mareos, zumbidos en los oídos o visión borrosa, generalmente ya hay un órgano comprometido. Por eso el médico insiste en tres pilares: medicación, dieta y ejercicio. En cuanto a la alimentación, la indicación es concreta: reducir los carbohidratos entre un 60 y 70 por ciento, evitarlos completamente en la noche, y reemplazarlos con proteínas y vegetales. Eliminar el cigarrillo y el alcohol sin excepciones.
Para quienes tienen antecedentes familiares, revisar la presión cada dos semanas es suficiente —muchas farmacias lo hacen gratis. Para quienes ya tienen el diagnóstico, la medición diaria, mañana y noche, debe volverse tan automática como cualquier rutina básica. El seguimiento médico se ajusta según la evolución: más frecuente al inicio del tratamiento, y una vez estabilizado, dos visitas anuales bastan.
El mensaje de Alba González es claro: hacerse revisar, seguir las indicaciones médicas, comer bien, moverse y alejarse de los tóxicos. La hipertensión ya no es una amenaza lejana para la vejez. Está aquí, en cuerpos jóvenes, y responde —para bien o para mal— a las decisiones de cada día.
High blood pressure used to be something you expected to see in your parents or grandparents—a disease of aging, of accumulated years. But that assumption no longer holds. Dr. Dreny Alba González, an internist who practices at two medical centers in the Vargas region, has watched the profile of his hypertensive patients shift dramatically. Young people are arriving in his clinic with elevated readings, and the reason is no longer mysterious. It is the way they live.
The timing of this observation is pointed. May 17th marks World Hypertension Day, and the occasion arrives as the disease has begun its migration downward through the age brackets. Where doctors once routinely diagnosed high blood pressure in adults between 35 and 40 years old, they now see it in much younger patients. The shift is not random. Alba González traces it directly to the habits that define modern life for many young adults: sedentary routines, poor eating patterns, smoking, and alcohol consumption. The disease, he explains, affects men and women equally, which itself represents a change from older patterns.
Genetics still matters. If your parents or grandparents had hypertension, your risk rises. But inheritance is only part of the story. The acquired factors—the ones you can actually control—have become the dominant force. Lack of physical activity, poor diet, the constant consumption of processed food and sugary drinks: these are the real drivers of the surge. Alba González emphasizes that hypertension remains controllable, but only if patients commit to three specific pillars: medication, diet, and exercise. Without all three, the disease advances silently, damaging the heart, brain, kidneys, and eyes without announcing itself through obvious symptoms. This is why it earned the nickname "the silent killer."
When symptoms do appear—headaches, dizziness, ringing in the ears, blurred vision—it often means an organ is already being harmed. By then, prevention has given way to damage control. The doctor's prescription for lifestyle change is concrete and demanding. Reduce carbohydrates by 60 to 70 percent from current consumption levels. This means cutting back on corn flour, wheat, rice, yams, potatoes, and plantains. Avoid them entirely at night, when insulin spikes highest. Eat them only at breakfast and lunch, in small portions. Replace them with vegetables and protein—eggs, beef, fish, chicken, pork. Eliminate cigarettes and alcohol completely.
For those with a family history of hypertension, the recommendation is to check blood pressure every two weeks or so, a service many pharmacies now provide free of charge. For those already diagnosed, daily monitoring becomes non-negotiable. Morning and evening measurements should become routine, as automatic as brushing teeth. Only consistent measurement reveals whether the disease is truly controlled, since high blood pressure produces no warning sensations. The follow-up schedule with a doctor depends on how newly diagnosed the patient is. Those just starting treatment return at 15 days, then three months, then six months, depending on how well they tolerate medication and how their numbers respond. Once controlled, two annual visits suffice.
Alba González's message on World Hypertension Day is direct: get your pressure checked. Follow your doctor's guidance. Eat well. Move your body. Avoid toxins. For those already living with hypertension, these steps offer genuine control. For those who have not yet developed it, they offer genuine prevention. The disease is no longer a distant threat reserved for the elderly. It is here, in younger bodies, and it responds to the choices made every single day.
Citas Notables
The disease is increasingly visible in young people due to poor habits like smoking and alcohol use, combined with bad diet and junk food consumption— Dr. Dreny Alba González, internist
Hypertension is controllable if patients follow three fundamental pillars: diet, medication, and exercise, preventing complications to the heart, brain, kidneys, and vision— Dr. Dreny Alba González
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why is hypertension suddenly appearing in young people when it used to be a disease of age?
Because the disease was never really about age—it was about the conditions that accumulate over time. Now those conditions are arriving faster. Young people are sedentary, eating processed food, smoking, drinking. The body doesn't care how old you are when you live that way.
So genetics doesn't matter anymore?
It still matters. If your parents had it, your risk is higher. But genetics loads the gun; lifestyle pulls the trigger. You can have the worst family history and stay healthy if you move and eat well. Or you can have no family history and develop it by 25 if you don't.
The doctor mentions three pillars—diet, medication, exercise. Why all three?
Because the disease has multiple causes. Medication controls the pressure itself, but it doesn't fix the underlying problem. Diet and exercise address the root—the sedentary body, the inflamed vessels, the excess weight. Without all three, you're only managing symptoms, not healing.
He says to reduce carbohydrates by 60 to 70 percent. That's extreme.
It is. But he's not suggesting zero carbs—just a dramatic shift from what most people eat. The average diet is carbohydrate-heavy. Cutting it that much forces you to eat more vegetables and protein instead, which actually stabilizes blood sugar and reduces inflammation.
What's the danger if someone ignores this?
The disease damages silently. Your heart weakens, your kidneys fail, you go blind from retinal damage. By the time you feel something wrong, the organ damage is already done. That's why it's called the silent killer.
Is there hope for someone already diagnosed?
Complete hope. The disease is controllable. But it requires consistency—daily blood pressure checks, medication taken as prescribed, the diet changes, the exercise. It's not a cure; it's a way of living that keeps the disease from winning.