VISCERAL ADIPOSITY INDEX (VAI) – A POTENTIAL MARKER OF CARDIOMETABOLIC RISK

The importance of cardiovascular/cardiometabolic risk is a special one, because it may influence atherogenesis and its clinical consequences: ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, peripheral artery disease, but also diabetes mellitus (DM). To evaluate the cardiometabolic risk associated with visceral obesity, a useful indicator for the clinical practice was searched. The visceral adiposity index (VAI) could become an easy-to-use tool to evaluate the cardiometabolic risk in everyday practice. VAI indicates the function of visceral adipose tissue and its growth is independently correlated with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular risk. The medical world tried to identify an easy way to assess cardiovascular risk, so the visceral adiposity index was introduced, whose formula includes a number of cardiovascular risk factors.