The metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease - an ongoing tsunami

The metabolic syndrome represents a cluster of closely connected premorbid risk factors or diseases with visceral obesity type 2 diabetes, hypertension and low HLD/hypertriglyceridemia as established traits affecting about 20% in the adult European populations. This syndrome develops on a complex soil with overnutrition, low physical activity and psychosocial stress. Common comorbidities are fatty liver, sleep apnoe and endothelial dysfunction with cardiovascular complications, nephropathy and type 2 diabetes as "end-stage" diseases. Thus, a rational diagnostic is needed to elucidate the complex cluster of diseases as basis for an integrated therapy. There is a clear priority for life style intervention, however, most diseases of the metabolic syndrome need medical treatment. Medical treatment of single traits has to take into account possible pleiotropic or adverse effects on the other traits. This paper presents the pros and cons of major drug intervention for type 2 diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia and hypercoagulation in the context with the metabolic syndrome.