Influence of Gender on the Relationships between Metabolic Syndrome and Left Ventricular Mass in Essential Hypertensive Subjects

Although the definition and clinical importance of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) are still under debate [1], there is clear evidence that MetS considerably increases the risk of cardiovascular (CV) and renal events, in general population and also in subjects with high blood pressure (BP), even in absence of diabetes [2-5]. In some studies the CV morbidity and mortality risk associated with MetS was found to be higher in the female sex [3]. Several lines of evidence suggest that this enhanced CV risk may partially be mediated by the increased prevalence of preclinical CV and renal damage observed in individuals with the MetS [6-14]. Recently, the results of the Framingham Offspring study hig…