Metabolic syndrome

Definiton

The metabolic syndrome is not an independent disease but a combination of different diseases, which all represent risk factors for arteriosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases. Meanwhile the metabolic syndrome affects about 25% of the population and the tendency is rising. Among other things, this is due to the growing wealth of the population and the resulting lifestyles, such as little physical work, little exercise and food in abundance.

Among the factors that make up the metabolic syndrome are

  • Obesity (Adiposity)
  • High blood pressure
  • Elevated blood lipid values
  • Increased cholesterol level
  • Insulin resistance or a pronounced type 2 diabetes mellitus

A precise cause of the metabolic syndrome cannot be identified. What is certain is that the fat cells play a decisive role in the development of all symptoms of the metabolic syndrome. The causes therefore include above all a high-calorie diet in combination with a lack of exercise.

This can lead not only to overweight but also to insulin resistance. The hormone insulin is responsible for regulating the blood sugar level and ensures that the sugar taken in from food is absorbed into the muscle and fat cells. If this regulation is disturbed, the absorbed sugar is no longer properly metabolized and settles in the form of fat in the abdominal region.

Insulin resistance can later develop into diabetes. In addition, the elimination of water and salts via the kidneys is reduced, which can lead to high blood pressure. A genetic predisposition can also be part of the cause of the metabolic syndrome.

There is often a familial predisposition to insulin resistance, which is further encouraged by an unhealthy lifestyle. All these symptoms can then lead to calcification of the coronary arteries. High blood pressure causes tiny damage to the blood vessels in the vascular wall, into which increased fat and cholesterol are then stored. These deposits (plaques) become larger and larger and the blood vessels become narrower and narrower, so that the blood can no longer flow through them properly. As too little blood reaches the organs over time, this can have serious consequences.