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In the case of the metabolic syndrome, four findings come together that reinforce each other. They form a “deadly quartet”. The disease often leads to dangerous vascular diseases such as heart attacks or strokes.
Hardly anyone knows it by name, even though it affects millions of people in this country: the metabolic syndrome. The bulky term describes a common ailment with four characteristics: overweight, too high blood fat and blood sugar levels and high blood pressure. Each factor in itself increases the risk of vascular diseases with consequences such as stroke and heart attack. If they appear together, the risk even doubles.