Expert Insights
Are you at risk for a heart attack?
Are you at risk for a heart attack?
Did you know you could be at risk for diabetes, stroke, and heart disease without even realizing it? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2024), “Approximately 11 million US adults with a usual health care source have undiagnosed hypertension (para 1)”. Many people do not go to the doctor for a routine checkup because they “feel ok”. What are the symptoms of high blood pressure? Some experience no symptoms while others may contribute a headache to lack of sleep or poor nutrition when in fact, it could be from dangerously elevated blood pressure. Visiting the doctor based solely on how you feel is a recipe for disaster because when you do have symptoms and feel generally unwell, you may be diagnosed with a stroke, heart attack, or uncontrolled diabetes. Hence the importance of routine checkups to screen for metabolic syndrome. What is metabolic syndrome? In this article, I will define metabolic syndrome, discuss the criteria for diagnosis, and show how it can contribute to increased risk for cardiovascular disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes.
Metabolic syndrome
According to the Cleveland Clinic (2025), metabolic syndrome is characterized by a group of conditions that cumulatively increase your risk for diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and stroke. Metabolic syndrome (aka Syndrome X) is prevalent in the U.S. 1 out of every 3 people you see, has metabolic syndrome (Cleveland Clinic, 2025). A person would meet the criteria for Syndrome X if at least 3 of the following is present (Cleveland Clinic, 2025): 1. Excess abdominal fat (waist >40 inches in males and >35 in females) 2. Elevated triglyceride levels (high fat in the blood) 3. Low HDL levels 4. Elevated blood sugar levels 5. High blood pressure (> or equal to 130/85). High cholesterol increases your risk of forming plaque (blockage) in the arteries of your heart which increases your risk for heart attack. Additionally, low levels of HDL increases your cardiovascular risk because HDL (aka good cholesterol) removes the bad cholesterol from the blood and takes it back to the liver so it can be removed from the body; if this is low, you will have higher levels of cholesterol in the blood. Also, high blood pressure increases your risk for developing heart and kidney failure because of the resistance the heart must pump against to push blood forward. In other words, the higher the blood pressure, the harder the heart has to work to pump blood. The effects of Syndrome X on the body is detrimental if not corrected in the early stages.
Metabolic syndrome and Insulin resistance
How does metabolic syndrome increase your diabetes risk? I will first discuss the basics of diabetes and insulin production. When you eat, your blood glucose or blood sugar levels rise which stimulates the pancreas to secrete insulin. Insulin is vital to the body because it pushes glucose or blood sugar, out of the blood and into the cells; this mechanism prevents elevated blood sugar levels. But with metabolic syndrome, you produce insulin, but the cells become less responsive to the insulin produced which results in higher blood sugar levels in the blood. Eventually, if this insulin resistance persists, you will have higher than normal blood sugar levels which will lead to a diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes. People who have type 2 diabetes need to take oral diabetic medications to help with insulin resistance and/or may also need insulin injections. On the contrary, in Type 1 diabetes, the pancreas does not produce any insulin. People with Type 1 diabetes will need to take insulin injections or use an insulin pump for the rest of their lives.
In closing, it is crucial to visit your doctor regularly for routine blood work and blood pressure checks. If possible, obtain a blood pressure machine of your choice so that you can notice if your blood pressure is becoming high. High cholesterol and elevated blood pressure is often asymptomatic and is referred to as “the silent killer”. Why? By the time you do exhibit symptoms, it is often too late and you may be left with a weak heart after a heart attack, or paralysis of one side of your body from a massive stroke. At your next doctor’s visit, ask: ‘Do I have metabolic syndrome?’ If the answer is yes, start making small, sustainable lifestyle changes today. Your life depends on it.
References:
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/10783-metabolic-syndrome
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/67/wr/mm6729a2.htm
