What We Don’t Talk About: Metabolic Syndrome 

As American Heart Month approaches, it’s a good time to evaluate your risk for coronary artery disease and stroke.  Non-modifiable risk factors include age, sex, and family history.  Modifiable risk factors include elevated blood pressure and cholesterol, smoking, diabetes, excess body weight, unhealthy diet, poor stress management, and being sedentary.  American Heart Association discusses these risk factors here: https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/heart-attack/understand-your-risks-to-prevent-a-heart-attack 

Metabolic syndrome is a lesser-known group of five conditions that can increase a person’s risk of coronary artery disease as well as stroke and diabetes. These conditions include high blood pressure, high fasting blood sugar, high triglycerides, low HDL (good) cholesterol, and abdominal obesity (American Heart Association, 2021).  A diagnosis of three or more of these conditions qualifies as metabolic syndrome.  While having any risk factor for cardiovascular disease is reason to evaluate your lifestyle, metabolic syndrome increases a person’s risk by two-fold versus people who do not have metabolic syndrome (Mottillo et al., 2010).  One out of three adults in the U.S. has metabolic syndrome, though, its prevalence increases to one out of two Americans aged 60 and above (American College of Cardiology, 2016). 

Your healthcare provider can determine if you have metabolic syndrome at your annual physical.  Your provider can check your cholesterol and fasting blood sugar through a blood test before you have eaten anything for the day.  Blood pressure should also be checked at most medical office visits, but keep in mind that a true resting blood pressure should be taken after five minutes of sitting quietly.  Abdominal obesity is measured with a flexible tape measure right above the hip bones. (This measurement will not necessarily be the same as your pants size.)  

The good news is that you can do the following things to address the conditions that comprise metabolic syndrome and they include diet and exercise.  Even a small change to risk factors can reduce the chance of a heart issue. 

Take the following quiz to test your knowledge of metabolic syndrome.  Scroll down for answers and to see more information about Metabolic Syndrome and how to manage it from the American College of Cardiology.   

1)      What is the normal/healthy range for triglycerides?

1. <100 mg/dL
2. <150 mg/dL
3. <200 mg/dL
4. <330 mg/dL 

2)      What is the normal/healthy range for HDL (good) cholesterol?

1. ≥25 mg/dL in men, ≥35 mg/dL in women
2. ≥35 in both men and women
3. ≥40 mg/dL in men, ≥50 mg/dL in women
4. ≥50 in both men and women 

3)      Which value(s) is considered “high” blood pressure?

1. 105/70
2. 118/76
3. 124/79
4. 130/85
5. 140/90 

4)      Which value is the cut-off for high fasting blood sugar?

1. 100 mg/dL
2. 110mg dL
3. 125 mg/dL
4. 150 mg/dL 

5)      Which values are the cut-off for optimal abdominal circumference?

1. 30 inches in women, 35 inches in men
2. 35 inches in women, 40 inches in men
3. 40 inches in women, 45 inches in men
4. 45 inches in women, 50 inches in men 

Answers:

1)B        2) C        3) D&E       4) A       5) B 

American College of Cardiology CardioSmart PDF: https://www.cardiosmart.org/docs/default-source/assets/infographic/metabolic-syndrome_final.pdf?sfvrsn=9154c920_7 

References

American College of Cardiology. (2016). Metabolic Syndrome. Retrieved from https://www.cardiosmart.org/topics/metabolic-syndrome 

American Heart Association. (2021). What is Metabolic Syndrome? Retireved from https://www.heart.org/-/media/Files/Health-Topics/Answers-by-Heart/What-Is-Metabolic-Syndrome.pdf 

Mottillo, S. (et al.). (2010). The metabolic syndrome and cardiac risk: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 56(14), 1113-21132. doi: 10.1016/j.jacc.2010.05.034