[Lipid-lowering treatment in metabolic syndrome]

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-lowerign 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 ofstatins with fibrates may be necessary to achieve the lipid goals.