PERSPECTIVE article
Front. Cardiovasc. Med.
Sec. Cardiovascular Epidemiology and Prevention
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fcvm.2025.1652447
This article is part of the Research TopicThe Cardiovascular Continuum Between Hypertension, Diabetes and Cardiovascular DiseaseView all 8 articles
The Gulliver Syndrome: A Conceptual Framework to Address Therapeutic Inertia in Patients with Borderline Cardiovascular Risk Profiles
Provisionally accepted
- 1Universidad de Especialidades Espiritu Santo, Samborondon, Ecuador
- 2Universidad de Los Lagos, Osorno, Chile
- 3Hospital Universitario General de Santa Lucia, Cartagena, Spain
- 4Universidad Catolica San Antonio de Murcia, Murcia, Spain
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We propose a novel clinical construct, the "Gulliver Syndrome", to describe the scenario in which multiple, mildly elevated cardiovascular risk factors (CVRFs) coexist within an individual and together result in a significantly heightened overall risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). This accumulation of small deviations, often dismissed in clinical practice, can exert a synergistic impact on vascular health. Our aim is to formalize this underrecognized phenotype, which falls outside traditional diagnostic entities such as the metabolic syndrome, and to provide a framework that enables early recognition and management. We outline proposed diagnostic criteria, contrast this syndrome with related constructs, support its clinical relevance with emerging literature, and present a representative case. Ultimately, we advocate for this framework as a tool to overcome therapeutic inertia and encourage proactive, multifactorial interventions in primary and preventive care.
Keywords: Obesity, Hypertension, Diabetes Mellitus, Cholesterol, biomarkers
Received: 23 Jun 2025; Accepted: 21 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 López-Gil, Huerta and Alemán. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: José Francisco López-Gil, Universidad de Especialidades Espiritu Santo, Samborondon, Ecuador
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