Metabolic Syndrome

Metabolic syndrome is a group of health disorders that occur together. This syndrome can increase the risk of coronary heart disease, heart attack, type 2 diabetes, and stroke .

Someone is said to suffer from metabolic syndrome if they experience at least three of the five conditions, namely hypertension (high blood pressure), low HDL levels ( dyslipidemia ), high triglyceride levels, high blood sugar levels or prediabetes , and obesity with accumulation of fat in the abdomen.

Metabolic syndrome can increase the risk of serious illness. However, the development of metabolic syndrome can be prevented by controlling the factors that cause these five conditions, namely by adopting a healthy lifestyle every day.

Causes and Risk Factors for Metabolic Syndrome

The cause of metabolic syndrome is not known with certainty. However, this syndrome is thought to be affected by a decrease in the body's sensitivity to the hormone insulin, a hormone that lowers blood sugar levels. In these conditions, the effectiveness of the insulin hormone decreases.

Several factors that can increase a person's risk of developing metabolic syndrome are:

Eating too many fatty or sweet foods
Not exercising regularly
Have a smoking habit
Getting older
Having a family with metabolic syndrome

Symptoms of Metabolic Syndrome

As explained above, metabolic syndrome is a group of disorders that occur together. Therefore, complaints that arise are symptoms of these five conditions, including:

Stomach bulge
Often feel thirsty
The frequency of urination increases
The body gets tired easily
Headache
aches
Hard to breathe

A person often does not realize that he has metabolic syndrome. This happens because the symptoms do not appear or are considered something that usually happens.

When to see a doctor

Check blood pressure, cholesterol levels and blood sugar regularly, even if there are no symptoms of hypertension , diabetes and high cholesterol .

In people who suffer from any of these three conditions, see a doctor regularly to monitor the progress of the disease, evaluate the effectiveness of treatment, and to prevent complications.

Visit a nutritionist if you feel your weight is not ideal and your stomach looks distended. The nutritionist will develop a diet and exercise plan that you must do. The doctor can also suggest blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar tests to confirm your condition.

Heart attacks and strokes are complications of metabolic syndrome that can occur suddenly. Immediately go to the hospital emergency room if symptoms of a heart attack and stroke appear, such as:

Sudden weakness of facial or leg muscles
Disturbance in speaking and understanding speech
Loss of balance and coordination between members of the body
Severe headache accompanied by vomiting
A feeling of pressure or pressure in the chest, which spreads to the jaw, neck and back
Nausea, heartburn , indigestion, and stomach pain
A cold sweat

Diagnosis of Metabolic Syndrome

The doctor will ask about the patient's symptoms, such as symptoms of high blood sugar or high blood pressure. After that, the doctor will carry out a physical examination by weighing, measuring waist circumference and blood pressure, and running a blood test to confirm the diagnosis.

A person can be said to have metabolic syndrome if he has at least three of the following five criteria:

Large waist circumference, which is more than 90 cm in men and more than 80 cm in women
HDL or ' good cholesterol ' blood level is less than 50 mg/dL
Triglyceride levels in the blood are more than 150 mg/dL
Blood pressure consistently at 140/90 mmHg or more
Fasting blood sugar level of 100 mg/dL or higher

Treatment of Metabolic Syndrome

Because the metabolic syndrome is a group of diseases, the treatment method is to treat each of these diseases. Treatment aims to reduce the risk of heart and blood vessel disease.

Methods that can be done include:

Lifestyle changes

The first way to deal with metabolic syndrome is to live a healthy lifestyle, for example by:

Regular light exercise, at least 30 minutes every day
Lose weight until you reach your ideal body weight
Eat high-fiber foods , such as fruits and vegetables
Limit your intake of salt, sugar, saturated fat and alcoholic beverages
Stop smoking habit
Manage stress well

Drugs

If lifestyle changes are not able to overcome the patient's condition, the doctor will prescribe a number of drugs, such as:

Diuretic drugs, beta blockers, or ACE inhibitors , to treat high blood pressure
Statin class drugs, such as atorvastatin, to treat high cholesterol
Blood sugar-lowering drugs, such as metformin

Operation

Bariatric surgery or bariatric surgery is performed if the patient's weight is not successfully reduced by other means. In addition to losing weight, this method can also reduce the patient's risk of having a heart attack.

Some conditions that require bariatric surgery are:

Patients with a body mass index (BMI) above 40
Patients with BMI between 35-39, accompanied by diabetes or hypertension

To support the success of bariatric surgery, patients still need to have a strong desire to lead a healthy lifestyle .

Metabolic Syndrome Complications

Metabolic syndrome can cause serious complications, such as stroke or heart disease. Both complications are triggered by the process of atherosclerosis or plaque buildup in blood vessels. Atherosclerosis makes blood vessels narrow and harden so that they become blocked.