Metabolic Syndrome
Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD
Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.
William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR
Dr. Shiel received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from the University of Notre Dame. There he was involved in research in radiation biology and received the Huisking Scholarship. After graduating from St. Louis University School of Medicine, he completed his Internal Medicine residency and Rheumatology fellowship at the University of California, Irvine. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology.
- What is metabolic syndrome?
- How is metabolic syndrome defined?
- How common is metabolic syndrome?
- What causes, and what are the risk factors and symptoms of metabolic syndrome?
- Why should I know about metabolic syndrome?
- What is the treatment for metabolic syndrome?
- Diet and metabolic syndrome
- Exercise and metabolic syndrome
- Cosmetic surgery to remove fat
- What if lifestyle changes are not enough to treat metabolic syndrome?
- Summary
- Metabolic Syndrome FAQs
- Patient Comments: Metabolic Syndrome - Symptoms
- Patient Comments: Metabolic Syndrome - Effective Treatments
- Find a local Internist in your town
What is metabolic syndrome?
Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of metabolic risk factors that come together in a single individual. These metabolic factors include insulin resistance, hypertension (high blood pressure), cholesterol abnormalities, and an increased risk for clotting. Patients are most often overweight or obese. An association between certain metabolic disorders and cardiovascular disease has been known since the 1940s.
Metabolic syndrome is considered to be a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes that arises due to insulin resistance and an abnormal function and pattern of body fat. Insulin resistance refers to the diminished ability of cells to respond to the action of insulin in promoting the transport of the sugar glucose, from blood into muscles and other tissues.
Metabolic syndrome is also known as syndrome X or the dysmetabolic syndrome.
How is metabolic syndrome defined?
Based on the guidelines from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and the American Heart Association (AHA), any three of the following traits in the same individual meet the criteria for the metabolic syndrome:
- Abdominal obesity: a waist circumference of 102 cm (40 in) or more in men and 88 cm (35 inches) or more in women. For Asian Americans, the cutoff values are ≥90 cm (35 in) in men or ≥80 cm (32 in) in women
- Serum triglycerides 150 mg/dl or above.
- HDL cholesterol 40mg/dl or lower in men and 50mg/dl or lower in women.
- Blood pressure of 130/85 or more.
- Fasting blood glucose of 100 mg/dl or above.
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