Metabolic syndrome and vascular reactivity

The relationship between metabolic syndrome, white-coat hypertension and vascular reactivity to sympathetic stimulation is an intriguing point, particularly because there are several factors in the metabolic syndrome – hypertension, hyperglycaemia, altered lipid profile, increased body weight – able to influence the vessel wall response to adrenergic drive. We did not detect difference in this parameter between subjects with and without metabolic syndrome most likely because all subjects had arterial hypertension, which is the most powerful determinant of altered vascular reactivity.