It is important to be aware that if you complain of fatigue and breathlessness with moderate exercise, you may have early-stage heart failure. Report this to your doctor.
Researchers and doctors are now warning us about metabolic syndrome and how it puts us all at high risk for developing diabetes and heart disease.
If you are plump around the middle, have high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol, sloth-like habits and a tendency toward high blood sugar, you might have metabolic syndrome.
Almost one in four adults has metabolic syndrome, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates. As Americans grow more obese, the incidence of this condition is increasing.
Call it love handles or a spare tire; a big belly is shaping up to be a big risk factor for the deadliest health concerns. Sometimes called insulin resistant syndrome, syndrome X, or pre-diabetes, metabolic syndrome isn't a disease -- it's a cluster of related signs and symptoms that increase diabetes risk up to five-fold and risk of hardening of the arteries by as much as three times.
Women account for a quarter of those with metabolic syndrome.
Warning Signs
- Waist size of 35 inches or more for women, 40 inches or more for men.
- Blood pressure reading of 130/85 mm Hg or more.
- Fasting blood sugar level of 100 mg or more.
If you have any of the warning signs or risk factors, it's not too late to make changes to reverse or decrease the effects on your health. Your goal should be to prevent type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease. Reduce your risks by changing your lifestyle.
Cindy Schicker, RN, is patient care coordinator at High Point Regional Health System in North Carolina.
Source: Greensboro News Record. Powered by Yellowbrix.
Taurine can help prevent heart failure.
Visit the heart disease center.
Live longer and healthier with tips from the Heart Health Insider.
