Metabolic Syndrome: Sex-Related Cardiovascular Risk and Therapeutic Approach

Background: The metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a cluster of risk factors for the development of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and type 2 diabetes (T2DM). According to several meta-analyses, it has been shown that the cardiovascular (CV) risk conferred by the MetS is higher in women in comparison with men. There are many possible reasons to explain a higher CV risk in women with MetS: the most important differences can be attributed to distribution of central adiposity, lipid profile and hormones, but also differences in platelet biology and biochemistry play an important role. Keywords: Metabolic syndrome, gender, cardiovascular risk, obesity, diabetes, atherothrombosis, platelets.