Medium-term cardiovascular effects of high-dose growth hormone treatment in growth hormone-deficient children

To investigate the possible cardiac morphofunctional alterations inducd by prolonged and high-dose GH therapy in a group of 14 children with isolated GH deficiency.

Patients were evaluated at phase 1, after 1.1 +/- 0.6 years of treatment with GH 0.93 +/- 0.13 U/kg/week, and at phase 2, after 5.5 +/- 2.1 years of therapy 0.89 +/- 0.11 U/kg/week. At each phase left ventricular volume, mass and systolic function were evaluated by two-dimensional guided M-mode echocardiography; left ventricular diastolic function was assessed by PW-Doppler sampling of transmitral flow.

Phase 1: diastolic blood pressure was lower (p < 0.05) and fractional shortening was not adequate for the level of afterload (stress shortening index p < 0.05) in patients compared to controls. Phase 2: diastolic blood pressure was lower (p < 0.01) and mass and mass/volume ratio were increased (mass index p < 0.05, mass/ volume ratio p < 0.05) in patients compared to controls. The increased mass/volume ratio, together with the normal systolic blood pressure, explains the reduction in peak systolic stress (p < 0.005). Among the parameters of left ventricular diastolic function, the peak E velocity/total area under mitral valve tracing and the area under E velocity/total area under mitral value tracing ratios were significantly decreased (p < 0.05).

After a mean period of 5 years on high-dose GH treatment in GH-deficient children, subclinical morphofunctional alterations in the left ventricle were found.