Metabolic syndrome and stroke.

The metabolic syndrome is highly prevalent worldwide, and its cardiovascular toll is expected to rise with the growing obesity epidemic. Mounting evidence points to an association between metabolic syndrome and first or recurrent stroke. This article discusses the emerging data supporting a link between stroke and the metabolic syndrome and underscores the need to better understand the syndrome's pathophysiology, with a goal to appropriately and intensively limit the burden of this multiple risk factor entity.