It’s predicted that metabolic syndrome may soon surpass smoking as one of the leading risk factors for heart disease.
“When you start talking to them and you qualify them as metabolic syndrome they look at you and they say what is that?” says Lee Memorial Health System cardiologist, Dr. Karla Quevedo,
Metabolic syndrome is the name for a group of risk factors that raises your risk for other health conditions and concerns.
“Metabolic syndrome, it’s described as three or more risk factors: obesity, high cholesterol, high glucose or diabetes, and high blood pressure,” says Dr. Quevedo.
The risk of having metabolic syndrome is closely linked to overweight and obesity and a lack of physical activity. And it increases your risk for heart disease, stroke and diabetes.
No surprise these conditions are interrelated, linked to lifestyle choices; the combination of too much weight and too little exercise. And it only gets worse with age. Research shows almost half of Americans over 60 already have metabolic syndrome. Addressing weight in particular brings the other metabolic factors back in line.
“You can also prevent having diabetes in the future. You have chances to improve your lipids and you can also control your blood pressure with that. So we know once you’re diagnosed we can treat it, even before the diseases start,” says Dr. Quevedo.
Losing weight and improving your diet are considered the most important initial steps in treating metabolic syndrome.
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Lee Memorial Health System in Fort Myers, FL is the largest network of medical care facilities in Southwest Florida and is highly respected for its expertise, innovation and quality of care. For nearly a century, we’ve been providing our community with everything from primary care treatment to highly specialized care services and robotic assisted surgeries.
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