Management of cardiovascular risk associated with insulin resistance, diabetes, and the metabolic syndrome

Adi Mehta, MD stresses the growing severity of the metabolic syndrome in the May 2010 edition of Postgraduate Medicine. Metabolic syndrome often leads to cardiovascular disease (CVD) because of its key components: diabetes, dyslipidemia, and hypertension. With obesity maintaining its status as a huge problem worldwide, physicians must act as soon as possible when they recognize metabolic syndrome or any of its components.

In the United States alone, more than 80 million adults have some form of CVD, many of whom have diabetes. The metabolic syndrome’s component symptoms’ underlying cause is insulin resistance (60% to 70%). More than 90% of patients with type 2 diabetes have signs of insulin resistance, which makes metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes very closely related in many CVD deaths.

Dr. Mehta reports that the best treatment for insulin resistance is for patients to improve their diet and exercise routine, and to take a combination of the various types of pharmocotherapy drugs to reduce high blood glucose levels after being thoroughly evaluated by a health care provider. The article cites a range of clinical trials to discuss their effects on management of metabolic syndrome and its key components. In order to reduce the risk of CVD, it must be diagnosed early in order to induce a therapeutic lifestyle change, and a full investigation of an individual’s health to uncover all metabolic syndrome components is necessary to initiate composite therapy.

Full text available at www.postgradmed.com