Diabetes has long been recognized as a risk factor for stroke. New data from the Framingham Offspring Study now also includes metabolic syndrome as a risk factor for stroke.
Metabolic syndrome is characterized by a group of risk factors occurring at the same time in one person. Some of the risk factors are:
- Abdominal obesity (excessive fat tissue in and around the abdomen)
- Blood fat disorders – high triglycerides, low HDL cholesterol and high LDL cholesterol – that foster plaque buildups in artery walls
- Elevated blood pressure
- Insulin resistance or glucose intolerance (the body can’t properly use insulin or blood sugar)
In a 14-year study including 2,097 people aged 50 or older, metabolic syndrome was found in 30 percent of men and 25 percent of women. Seven percent of the study group had diabetes.
In 14 years of follow-up, people with diabetes were 2.5 times more likely to develop a stroke than those without diabetes. People with metabolic syndrome were 2.1 times more likely to develop a stroke than those without this condition. If they had both, their risk was 3.3 times higher for stroke.
Diabetes carries a higher risk of stroke than metabolic syndrome. However, because metabolic syndrome is so much more common than diabetes, the actual number of strokes caused by metabolic syndrome (attributable risk) was about three times higher in men and five times higher in women than strokes due to diabetes.
Insulin resistance associated with metabolic syndrome increases stroke risk by increasing the likelihood of a blood clot forming. Other studies have shown that metabolic syndrome increases the risk of cardiovascular events by 3 times and death from cardiovascular disease (heart attacks and strokes) by up to 5 times.
Diabetes is considered a risk similar to already having coronary heart disease. The authors of this study suggest that metabolic syndrome should also be considered a risk similar to diabetes because it is so much more prevalent and is responsible for more cardiovascular deaths than diabetes alone.
To lower your risk of metabolic syndrome:
- Keep waist girth below 35 inches for women, and less than 40 inches for men.
- Keep triglycerides below 150 mg/dL.
- Maintain blood pressure below 130/85.
- Keep HDL cholesterol higher than 40 for men and above 50 for women.
- Fasting blood glucose should be below 100 mg/dL.
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