Metabolic Syndrome Linked to Calcium Deposits

By Ed Susman, Contributing Writer, MedPage Today Published: November 09, 2010 Reviewed by Dori F. Zaleznik, MD; Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston and Dorothy Caputo, MA, RN, BC-ADM, CDE, Nurse Planner Action Points   Note that this study was published as an abstract and presented at a conference. These data and conclusions should be considered to be preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal. Explain that a small study found that meeting criteria for the metabolic syndrome was independently associated with high coronary artery calcium scores. Note that coronary calcium scores are believed to predict subclinical atherosclerosis. LOS ANGELES -- People diagnosed with metabolic syndrome may be well on their way to heart disease, as reflected by a new study showing that these patients are apt to have significant subclinical coronary artery calcium deposits. After adjusting for diabetes, fasting blood sugar, systolic blood pressure, and use of cholesterol-lowering medications, people who fit the criteria for metabolic syndrome had an odds ratio of 2.13 (CI 1.02 to 4.43) (P<0.001) of falling in the highest quartile for coronary artery calcium scores. "We found that having the metabolic syndrome independently predicts subclinical atherosclerosis," Muddassir Mehmood, MD, chief resident for research at Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio, toldMedPage Today at his poster presentation during the World Congress on Insulin Resistance, Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease here./.../