2020–2021 BCSC Basic and Clinical Science Course™
1 Update on General Medicine
Chapter 3: Hypertension
Special Considerations
Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome
Obesity (body mass index ≥30) is a risk factor for the development of hypertension and has become a major concern in the United States, where an estimated 160 million adults are overweight or obese. Closely related to obesity is metabolic syndrome. This syndrome is characterized by the presence of 3 or more of these conditions: central (abdominal) obesity, elevated triglyceride level, reduced high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level, hypertension, and elevated fasting blood glucose levels. Patients with these conditions should adopt healthful lifestyle habits and, if necessary, use drug therapy, excepting thiazide-type diuretics, which may aggravate this syndrome. See Chapter 2 for additional discussion of metabolic syndrome.
Excerpted from BCSC 2020-2021 series: Section 1 - Update on General Medicine. For more information and to purchase the entire series, please visit https://www.aao.org/bcsc.