Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: Implications for cardiovascular risk

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a growing epidemic in the USA affecting ∼30% of the population. It has been closely linked to metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes, with strong implications for cardiovascular disease (CVD). This review focuses on the relationship between NAFLD and CVD and the proposed interactions interlinking these two diseases. This appraisal also discusses treatments targeting NAFLD in the context of CVD. NAFLD is a multisystem disease and ultimately the goals of therapy are to ameliorate CVD and prevent coronary artery disease morbidity and mortality.