Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Maastricht, and Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Obesity is an important risk factor for insulin resistance and hypertension and plays a central role in the metabolic syndrome. Insight into the pathophysiology of this syndrome may lead to new treatments. This paper has reviewed the evidence for an important role for the microcirculation as a possible link between obesity, insulin resistance and hypertension.