Late potentials and ventricular arrhythmias in acromegaly

Sudden death and increased prevalence of ventricular arrhythmias have already been described in acromegaly. Although late potentials (LPs) have been proved to be a new technique in detecting patients at risk for ventricular tachyarrhythmias its use in acromegaly is still unknown.

We studied 70 acromegalic patients [32 males, 38 females; age 49+/-12 years (mean+/-S.D.)] and 70 control subjects age- and sex-matched [(35 males and 35 females; 46+/-12 years (mean+/-S.D.)]. Besides hormonal tests, we performed the following cardiovascular investigations: ECG, 24-h ECG Holter monitoring, echocardiography, and signal-averaged ECG (SAECG) time-domain analysis.

LPs occurrence was significantly higher in acromegalic patients as compared to the control group (22.9% vs. 2.9%; p=0.001). A greater duration of disease in patients with positive LPs compared to negative ones was pointed out (18 vs. 12 years; p=0.024). In the group of acromegalic patients with positive LPs we observed a significant association with premature ventricular complexes (PVCs) detected by means of 24-h Holter ECG recording (13 out of 15 patients: 86.7%; p=0.024). The positivity or negativity of LPs proved to be significantly associated with Lown scale PVC trends recorded by 24-h Holter ECG (p=0.014). In the group of patients with left ventricular hypertrophy a significant and pathological worsening of SAECG signals (QRS, LAS, RMS) was documented.

We observed a higher prevalence of LPs in acromegaly which significantly correlated with Lown scale of PVCs.