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(Circulation. 2004;109:e9001.)
© 2004 American Heart Association, Inc.

Cardiovascular News

Ruth SoRelle, MPH

Circulation Newswriter

An extract of the first 250 words of the full text is provided, because this article has no abstract.

Metabolic Syndrome, Stroke, and Heart Attack

A strong positive association between stroke and myocardial infarction and the constellation of cardiovascular risk factors known as metabolic syndrome has been demonstrated in a retrospective study of subjects who participated in the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP-ATP III) published in this week’s issue of the journal Circulation ( Circulation. 2004;109:42–46[Abstract/Free Full Text]).

In a study by researchers at the University of California, San Diego; representatives of Ingenix Epidemiology in Auburndale, Mass; and researchers at Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Research Institute in Princeton, NJ, 10 357 participants in the national study were evaluated for insulin resistance, abdominal obesity based on waist circumference, hypertriglyceridemia, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and hypertension, as well as for the full metabolic syndrome of which these are important factors. Researchers determined that subjects had the full syndrome if they demonstrated 3 of the component factors. They correlated the factors as well as the syndrome with a history of myocardial infarction or stroke. The results were adjusted for age, sex, race, and a history of tobacco use.

Metabolic syndrome was significantly associated with myocardial infarction and stroke in both men and women.

The researchers wrote: "These findings reaffirm the clinical importance of the metabolic syndrome as a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease and the need to develop strategies for controlling this syndrome and its component conditions."

Genes and the Hearts of Danes
A gene mutation (R213G) may increase the risk of developing atherogenesis. In a study in this week’s issue of the journal Circulation (Circulation. 2004;109:59–65), Danish . . . [Full Text of this Article]