Metabolic Syndrome

Overview

Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of conditions that includes high blood pressure, diabetes, insulin resistance, excess body fat, and high cholesterol and triglycerides. It is a common condition in the U.S. and is seen across all ages groups from age six and older. Not everyone with metabolic syndrome is obese.

The Risk

The conditions listed in metabolic syndrome increase a patient’s risk for stroke, heart disease, kidney failure, NAFLD, and colon cancer, just to name a few.

Treatment

While all of the conditions cannot be cured, they can be managed with medications. Other treatments require the patient to take control of their health by quitting smoking, eating a balanced, healthy diet, weight loss, and glucose monitoring.

If you have been diagnosed with high blood pressure, diabetes, and/or high blood lipids, you should follow your doctor’s orders very carefully. Improperly managed these conditions can cause serious, life threatening complications. Weight loss can help control these conditions and reduce the amounts of medications needed. The importance of losing weight can not be understated. To aid some patients in losing weight the physicians of Carolina Digestive offer the Orbera gastric balloon procedure.