Cardiometabolic disruptions such as insulin resistance, obesity, high blood pressure, hyperglycemia, and dyslipidemias, are known to increase the risk for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes mellitus and atherosclerosis. Several screening tools for assessing cardiometabolic risk have been developed including the TG/HDLc ratio, which has been, demonstrated to possess a strong association with insulin resistance and coronary disease.
Dietary modifications, together with regular moderate exercise have proven to be effective in attenuating cardiometabolic disruptions. However, they often exhibit poor long-term patient compliance. Nutraceutics, including (−)-epicatechin (EPI), have gained increasing interest as coadjuvant effective and safe therapies that are able to attenuate hypertension, hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, hypertriglyceridemia and hypoalphalipoproteinemia.