Deadly Duo: Examining the Effects of Metabolic Syndrome on Coronary Heart Disease

Coronary heart disease (CHD) results in 7.6 million deaths annually. Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a clustering of several of the risk factors of CHD. The prevalence of MetS in Canada can reach up to 33.5%. OBJECTIVES: To examine the relationship between MetS and CHD in order to explore the possibility that MetS increases the risk and severity CHD events. METHODS: A systematic literature review was performed to examine the relationship between MetS and CHD. The endpoints were CHD mortality rates related to MetS, and the severity of CHD events in MetS patients. RESULTS: Studies indicated that 40% MetS subjects were at high risk of coronary calcium and a 2.02 hazard ratio was observed of MetS associated with CHD. A second study showed that MetS patients were more likely to experience CHD events. Another observed that relative risk of MetS increasing mortality rates was 3.4. Carotid atherosclerosis was present in almost half MetS subjects in another study. CONCLUSION: MetS appears to increase mortality rates among CHD patients and the risk and severity of CHD events. Additional studies should be conducted to eliminate confounding factors