Obesity as the core of the metabolic syndrome and the management of coronary heart disease

SUMMARY

The global burden of coronary heart disease (CHD) has led to the introduction of international guidelines to minimize the morbidity and mortality that result from this condition. These guidelines recognize the contribution of multiple risk factors to the development of CHD and advocate a multifaceted approach to treatment.

Obesity, particularly visceral adiposity, contributes to the clustering of many other risk factors, such as hypertension, insulin resistance/type 2 diabetes and dyslipidemia, within individual patients. The molecular mechanisms underlying the metabolic abnormalities induced by visceral adiposity have yet to be fully elucidated; however, adipocytokines such as adiponectin, tumor necrosis factor-α and resistin seem to play an important role in this process. Obesity is a major modifiable CHD risk factor, and the benefits of weight loss are numerous, leading to improvements in several co-morbidities.

Guidelines advocate lifestyle changes to correct excess bodyweight and improve the CHD risk factor profile. In addition, pharmacologic therapy is recommended for the management of other risk factors, such as hypertension and dyslipidemia, which may not be adequately controlled by lifestyle changes alone. Lowering low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels is the primary target for drug therapy for CHD prevention, and statins are first-line lipid-modifying therapy. The introduction of more efficacious statins with favorable effects on the lipid profile will optimize the control of dyslipidemia. Combining these new treatments with lifestyle changes and drug therapies for managing other CHD risk factors, as part of a multifaceted approach to treatment, will have benefits for CHD prevention.

Key Words::

• Adiponectin
• Coronary heart disease
• Guidelines
• Obesity
• Statins
• Visceral