Metabolic Syndrom - Research Paper Example

? Metabolic Syndrome Metabolic syndrome refers to a collection of hazard factors that increase an individual’s risk for coronary heart disease, stroke diabetes and other health perils, which temper with a person’s health status. Risk factors are habits, conditions and traits that raise a person’s likelihood of developing an ailment. Metabolic syndrome is turning out to be more widespread than other diseases due to an augment in the cases of fatness among grown ups. Any success in controlling metabolic syndrome requires a team work commitment and a lasting effort between the healthcare providers and the patient. This brief overview will discuss the metabolic syndrome and proceed to analyze the statistics for this condition. The paper will end with a summative conclusion. Metabolic Syndrome According to Barbara & George (2008), metabolic syndrome refers to a group of risk factors that increases an individual’s risk for coronary heart disease, stroke diabetes and other health perils. The risk factors may occur independently and affect an individual. However, a person must be detected with at least more than two risk factors to be pronounced with metabolic syndrome (Barbara & George 2008). The risk factors that predispose an individual to contract metabolic syndrome are abdominal obesity, high levels of triglyceride, low level of HDL cholesterol, high blood sugar and high blood pressure. A person’s risk for stroke, heart disease and diabetes augments with the amount of risk factors of metabolism he has (Barbara & George 2008). People who engage in unhealthy behavior like smoking are more susceptible to metabolic syndrome than those who maintain a healthy life style. Metabolic syndrome is also closely related to sedentary life style, inadequate physical exercise, obesity and overweight and insulin resistance. Furthermore, old age and genetics are other risk factors that contribute to causing metabolic syndrome (Barbara & George 2008). It is extremely imperative for people to know that having a single risk factor raises chances of getting another one, and another, and eventually metabolic syndrome may well ensue. Metabolic syndrome has other names like dysmetabolic syndrome, insulin resistance syndrome, syndrome x, hypertriglyceridemic waist and obesity syndrome. What Causes metabolic syndrome Metabolic syndrome has several causes that work jointly. Some of these factors are controllable, and a person can regulate them to lower his risk of developing metabolic syndrome. Among the controllable causes are obesity and overweight, insulin resistance and sedentary life style. However, some causes are out of human control (Christopher & Sarah 2011). For example, one cannot control genetic factors that predispose a person to acquiring the syndrome. Further, an individual cannot control his age. Age and genetics can increase the tendency of a person to resist insulin in his body and thus lead to metabolic syndrome. Individuals with metabolic syndrome also have a couple of other conditions that include steady, low-grade inflammation in their entire body and excessive blood clotting. These conditions cause metabolic syndrome to deteriorate (Christopher & Sarah 2011). There are other close associates of these conditions, and they include polycystic ovarian syndrome, breathing problems, gallstones and fatty liver. Who gets Metabolic Syndrome? Individuals who get metabolic syndrome posses the underlying causes of this medical condition. As stated above, the causes of metabolic syndrome are insulin resistance, abdominal obesity and living a sedentary life. Patients who are taking medicine, which causes changes in the level of blood sugar or weight gain and changes in blood pressure, are at risk of getting metabolic syndrome (Barbara & George, 2008). Mexican-American women and African-American is the segment of the population that is more susceptible to getting metabolic syndrome than other races (gaetano et al 2003). People who come from a family with metabolic syndrome history have an elevated risk of metabolic syndrome. Further, women who have an individual history of polycystic ovarian syndrome or diabetes are also more prone to develop this condition. Symptoms and Signs of Metabolic Syndrome Most of the risk factors of metabolic syndrome have no symptoms or signs, although a waistline that is large is an obvious sign of metabolic syndrome risk. Diabetes type 2 and high blood pressure are symptoms that some people might show (Gaetano et al 2003). Other symptoms include increased urination, fatigue, increased thirst and blurred vision for people with high blood sugar. On the contrary, high blood pressure does not have any symptoms or signs. However, people at the initial stages of high blood pressure report having frequent nosebleeds, dizzy spells and dull headaches. How to Diagnose Metabolic Syndrome The results of a person’s physical test are the ones a doctor will use to diagnose a patient with metabolic syndrome. Further, a doctor can also use blood test that will reveal the level of blood sugar, cholesterols and blood pressure to analyze the likelihood of metabolic syndrome. Importantly, as stated before, there must be more than two risk factors for metabolic syndrome for a doctor to conclude that a patient is suffering from metabolic syndrome (Christopher & Sarah 2011). According to Gaetano et al (2003), waist measurement of more than 40 inches is a clear indication of metabolic syndrome. Further indications of metabolic syndrome are high levels of triglyceride of up to 150mg/dL, low cholesterol level of less than 40 mg /dL and high blood pressure that exceed 130/85 mmhg and high blood sugar that exceed 125 mg/dL. Any three of these conditions would be a direct indication of metabolic syndrome being present. Treatment of Metabolic Syndrome A healthy life style is the key to the treatment of metabolic syndrome. Healthy life styles include eating a proper diet that does not adversely affect the functioning of the heart, quitting smoking, losing weight and maintaining a commendable, physical fitness (Mellissa 2010). A doctor may also prescribe drugs that control the risk factors like high triglycerides, high blood pressure, high blood sugar and low HDL cholesterol. Further drugs can be used to reduce blood clotting in the arteries. Treatment Goals The chief goal of treating metabolic syndrome is to lower the danger of heart problems. Treatment is focused initially on managing diabetes, lowering blood pressure and LDL cholesterol in the blood (Mellissa 2010). The next goal of treatment process is to avoid the onset of type-two diabetes because it can cause serious complications like vision loss, kidney and heart diseases and even lead to the necessity of limb amputations. If the above risk factors are controlled effectively, then it will be possible to treat metabolic syndrome with a good outlook (Mellissa, 2010). The patients should keenly and strictly adhere to the doctors’ instructions because any ignorance can cost them their lives. Prevention of Metabolic Syndrome Choosing healthy life styles is the best way to prevent metabolic syndrome. Significant life style choice is to keep a healthy body weight, which one can obtain using his body mass index and his weight measurement (Gaetano et al 2003). A person should reduce consumption of fatty foods to lower the chances of developing plaques in the coronary arteries. People with genetic predispositions to develop metabolic syndrome should avoid smoking because the effects of smoking contribute to the risk of developing the syndrome (Gaetano et al 2003). In conclusion, metabolic syndrome refers to a group of risk factors that increases an individual’s risk for coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes and other health perils that temper with a person’s normal life. More than two of the relevant risk factors must be detected for a person to be diagnosed with metabolic syndrome. People who engage in unhealthy behavior like smoking and sedentary life style are more susceptible to metabolic syndrome than those who are active in physical exercise. Age and genetic factors are some of the uncontrollable causes of metabolic syndrome. The results of a person’s physical test are the ones a doctor will use to diagnose a patient for metabolic syndrome. The chief goal of treating metabolic syndrome is to lower the risk of heart disease because it can cause death within a short period. Lastly, choosing healthy life styles is the best way to prevent metabolic syndrome. References Barbara C.H. & George A.B. (2008). The Metabolic Syndrome: Epidemiology, Clinical Treatment, and Underlying Mechanisms. New Jersey: Humana Press. Christopher D & Sarah H. (2011). The Metabolic Syndrome. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Gaetano C., Antonio T. & Angelo A. (2003). The metabolic syndrome: diabetes, obesity, hyperlipidemia & hypertension. Amsterdam: Elsevier Health Sciences. Mellissa L. (2010). About Polycystic Ovary and Metabolic syndrome. 3 (7), 3-9. Read More