ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION Arterial hypertension is often part of a constellation of anthropometric and metabolic abnormalities that include abdominal (or visceral) obesity, a characteristic dyslipidemia (low high-density lipoprotein [HDL] cholesterol and high triglycerides), glucose intolerance and insulin resistance (IR), and hyperuricemia. These features occur simultaneously to a higher degree than would be expected by chance alone, supporting the existence of a discrete disorder, the so-called metabolic syndrome (MS), which also has received different names. Although several definitions of MS have been formulated, the most useful ones for clinicians are those based on clinical criteria that can be easily recorded.
