What is metabolic syndrome and how is it treated?

It is a constellation of symptoms and risk factors. Including but not limited to Abdominal Obesity, High triglycerides, low HDL, cholesterol and LDL chol high. These can bring about worsening of plague build ups in artery walls. Elevated Blood Pressure, Insulin Resistance or glucose intolerance. Also Proinflammatory state. Most people diagnosed with the syndrome are at increased risk for coronary heart disease, stroke and peripheral vascular disease, and type 2 diabetes.
Some of the other things that go along with it are physical inactivity, hormonal imbalance and aging as well as genetic predisposition.
As for treatment the goal is to manage the symptoms and factors and reduce the risk for complications. Such things as weight loss, increase physical if able to at least 30 minutes 4x a week, even walking can help. Better eating habits to control diabetes if diagnosed and also to regulate blood sugars and lower cholesterol. Cut out the salt if you use it a lot.
My mom was diagnosed with it and was able to signiificantly lower her risk factors by the changes mentioned. ( I did however check the American Heart Association web site to be sure I was giving the correct information in regards to the list of factors.) My mom's doctor told her it's not so much an illness as it is a group of symptoms and several diseases and or disorders than when all together can be very troublesome. Try the American Heart Association site. The info they have is pretty straighforward and also helpful I found. Good Luck and I hope I helped. Source(s): American Heart Association and Mom :)

http://www.medicinenet.com/metabolic_syn...
Overview

Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of conditions that occur together, increasing your risk for heart disease, stroke and diabetes. Having just one of these conditions 鈥?increased blood pressure, elevated insulin levels, excess body fat around the waist or abnormal cholesterol levels 鈥?contributes to your risk of serious disease. In combination, your risk is even greater.

Research into the complex underlying process linking this group of conditions is ongoing. As the name suggests, metabolic syndrome is tied to the body鈥檚 metabolism, possibly to a condition called insulin resistance.

Not all experts agree on the definition of metabolic syndrome or whether it even exists as a distinct medical condition. Doctors have talked about this constellation of risk factors for years and have called it many names, including syndrome X and insulin resistance syndrome. Whatever it鈥檚 called, and however it鈥檚 precisely defined, this collection of risk factors is apparently becoming more prevalent.

If you have metabolic syndrome or any of its components, you have the opportunity to make aggressive lifestyle changes that can delay or derail the development of serious diseases.Signs and symptoms

Having metabolic syndrome means you have several disorders related to your metabolism at the same time, including:

* Obesity, particularly around your waist (having an "apple shape")
* Elevated blood pressure
* An elevated level of the blood fat called triglycerides and a low level of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol 鈥?the "good" cholesterol
* Resistance to insulin, a hormone that helps to regulate the amount of sugar in your body

Having one component of metabolic syndrome means you're more likely to have others. And the more components you have, the greater are the risks to your health.

One study showed that men with three factors of metabolic syndrome are nearly twice as likely to have a heart attack or stroke and more than three times as likely to develop heart disease as are those with no factors.
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http://www.rdoctor.com
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http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/metabol...
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/metab...
http://www.medicinenet.com/metabolic_syn...
Metabolic syndrome is a made up word which describes what happens to people when they eat too many calories (usually from junk food). Once someone gets fat, all kinds of things happen, like you get diabetes and high blood pressure. Believe it or not, before junk food became so prevalent there was no metabolic syndrome. The drug companies and doctors make people think this is a real medical "syndrome"... it isn't! Just calorie count, eat a copmpletely healthy diet, lose weight and avoid any medicines to treat this "syndrome". Good luck... you can definitely get better on your own with lots and lots of self control!