Heart Disease Risk Factor #5: Metabolic Syndrome and Diabetes

The possible cause for at least half of all heart attacks.

Syndrome X

Few conditions sound as mysterious as the one often called Syndrome X. What is it, and why should you care?

During the groundbreaking Framingham Heart Study, when the link between high cholesterol and heart attack risk became clear, researchers noticed a certain group of people with low LDL levels who nevertheless had a high risk of heart disease. Why? Further study revealed a cluster of heart disease risk factors dubbed Syndrome X: high levels of insulin and glucose (blood sugar), a high triglyceride level, low HDL, small and dense LDL particles (the kind more likely to burrow into artery walls and cause plaque), high blood pressure, and being overweight.

The hallmark of the syndrome, now called metabolic syndrome, is insulin resistance. This means the body can't effectively use insulin, the hormone that helps glucose enter cells. The body tries to compensate by churning out more insulin, to little avail; too much glucose still remains in the bloodstream. Insulin resistance generally stems from a combination of genetic susceptibility and weight gain -- very few thin people have this condition.

Gerald Reaven, M.D., professor emeritus of medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine and co-author of Syndrome X: Overcoming the Silent Killer That Can Give You a Heart Attack, estimates that between 60 million and 75 million Americans have metabolic syndrome. He believes it may be responsible for at least half of all heart attacks. The growing obesity epidemic in the United States is contributing to the rising incidence of metabolic syndrome, which is threatening to reverse the overall reduction of coronary heart disease risk in the country, undoing decades of hard work. Factors that contribute to weight gain -- physical inactivity, a high-fat diet, and junk food (often in the form of highly processed carbohydrates) -- also contribute to metabolic syndrome.

Other signs of the syndrome include high levels of fibrinogen, a protein that increases the risk of blood clots, and increased PAI-1, a protein that slows the breakdown of those clots. In other words, if you have metabolic syndrome, it's more likely that a clot will form where plaque has ruptured. A high level of lipoprotein (a) is another common characteristic. And some people with metabolic syndrome, though certainly not all, also have high LDL levels, compounding the problem.

The seriousness of metabolic syndrome as a coronary heart disease risk factor is clear. In a study of 4,483 people, those with metabolic syndrome were three times more likely to have coronary heart disease, a stroke, or a heart attack as those without the syndrome. Another study found that for every 30 percent increase in insulin there is a 70 percent increase in the risk of heart disease over a five-year period.

• Healthy Heart
• Cholesterol
• Diabetes
• Heart Disease

• Heart Disease Risk Factor #3: Germs
• The consequences of bacteria and viruses can last well past the immediate symptoms.
• 
• Heart Disease Risk Factor #4: Homocysteine
• A potentially deadly amino acid.
• 
• Heart Disease Risk Factor #6: High Blood Pressure
• The symptom-less cause of damaged arteries.
• 
• Heart Disease Risk Factor #7: Depression
• The power of your mind over your heart.
• 
• Heart Disease Risk Factor #8: Uric Acid
• A controversial sign of heart disease.
• 
• Easy Ways to Lose Weight: 50+ Ideas
• Look slimmer, feel trimmer!
• 

• Be Inspired
• 10 Celebrities Who Give Back
• 7 Amazing Stories, $700,000 to Charity
• Virginia Cervasio: Making It Matter
• PLUS:
• Quiz: What's Your Celebrity Cause IQ?