Interní Med. 2006; 8(5): 223-226

Lipid-lowering treatment and metabolic syndrome

MUDr. Tomáš Štulc

III. interní klinika 1. LF UK a VFN, Centrum preventivní kardiologie, Praha

During the last decades, metabolic syndrome has become an important healthcare problem worldwide. Main components of metabolic syndrome are insulin resistance (resulting often in impaired glucose tolerance and diabetes mellitus), dyslipidemia, hypertension and abdominal obesity. Incidence of metabolic syndrome is high and it substantially increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Dyslipidemia is a prominent factor contributing to the increased cardiovascular risk in metabolic syndrome, and lipid-lowering therapy plays an important role in treating patients with this disorder. Most patients with dyslipidemia are treated with statins and/or fibrates. Statins are used for treatment of hypercholesterolemia; fibrates are indicated for treatment of hypertriglyceridemia and/or low HDL-cholesterol. In high risk patients with severe mixed hyperlipidemia, combination of statins with fibrates may be necessary to achieve the lipid goals.

Keywords: Key words: metabolic syndrome, dyslipidemia, cardiovascular risk, lipid-lowering drugs, statins, fibrates.

Published: June 1, 2006  Show citation