Metabolic Syndrome Independently Tied to Heart Failure

Findings from a new study suggest that metabolic syndrome is a risk factor for the development of heart failure, independent of known risk factors for the condition, such as interim MI.

The results imply that "metabolic syndrome provides important risk information beyond that of established risk factors for heart failure. This increased heart failure risk may be promoted by insulin resistance and accompanying hyperinsulinemia," lead author Dr. Erik Ingelsson, from Uppsala University in Sweden, and colleagues note.

The findings, are based on a study of 2314 men who were 50 years of age and free heart failure, MI, and valvular disease at baseline in the early 1970s. The subjects were then followed through age 70.

A modified version of the National Cholesterol Education Program’s definition of metabolic syndrome was used, which replaced waist circumference with BMI, the report indicates. The primary outcome measure was first hospitalization for heart failure.

On regression analysis, adjusted for established heart failure risk factors, metabolic syndrome at baseline raised the risk of heart failure during follow-up by 66%. After accounting for MI during follow-up, the increased risk rose further to 80%.

"If our results are confirmed, the study indicates that metabolic syndrome may have direct myocardial effects in addition to its proatherosclerotic effects," the researchers conclude.

Heart June, 2006

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DID YOU KNOW: Lipid-lowering drug treatment for diabetic patients has been proven to be very efficient at preventing cardiovascular events: An analysis showed that diabetic patients benefit even more than non-diabetic subjects from this treatment. It is suggested that future research should define a threshold for the treatment of diabetic patients and also define a blood cholesterol target level, especially for primary prevention. The authors state that “until these data are available, we think that our results support the use of statins not only for secondary prevention, but also for primary prevention in these diabetic patients” .
British Medical Journal, available on-line 24 April 2006: Costa J, Borges M, Efficacy of lipid lowering drug treatment for diabetic and non-diabetic patients: meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials