Viola Vargová, Marek Pytliak, Viola Mechírová, Gabriela Štefková
Metabolic syndrome is characterized by abdominal obesity and the presence of at least two of the following alterations: higher levels of arterial pressure, low density lipoprotein cholesterol and glycaemia, and reduction of high density lipoprotein cholesterol. In another definition of metabolic syndrome (World Health Organization, 1999) the dominant component of the metabolic syndrome is one of the forms of disorders of glucose metabolism (type 2 diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance or insulin resistance) and at least two of the other criteria. Hypercoagulable state is not required for definition, but may help in diagnosing of the metabolic syndrome. As recently reviewed by several investigators, the metabolic syndrome is frequently associated with a hypercoagulable condition, in that the coagulation system is switched toward a prothrombotic state, involving increased plasmatic coagulation, reduced fibrinolysis, decreased endothelial thromboresistance, and platelet hyperactivity. Knowledge of how haemostatic changes cluster with classical metabolic risk factors associated with the insulin resistance syndrome could help to better understand the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases.