Even if someone doesn’t have full metabolic syndrome, having high insulin resistance (a sign their body doesn’t respond well to insulin) still raises their risk of heart attacks and strokes by about 50%.

Having metabolic syndrome and having insulin resistance are two different things — and both of them, on their own, can tell doctors that someone is at higher risk for heart problems, even if you already know about the other.

People with metabolic syndrome — a group of conditions like high blood pressure, belly fat, and high blood sugar — are nearly three times more likely to have heart problems or strokes, even if they don’t have diabetes.

People with higher insulin resistance—measured by a specific blood test—are much more likely to have heart problems or die from any cause, even if they’ve never had heart disease before.