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Acromegalic cardiomyopathy in an extensively admixed population: is there a role for GH/IGF-I axis?

Gilvan Cortês Nascimento1, Marina Torres de Oliveira, Viviane Chaves Carvalho

  • 1Endocrinology Unit, Hospital Universitário Presidente Dutra, Universidade Federal do Maranhão, Rua Barão de Itapary, São Luís, Brazil. gilvancortes@uol.com.br

Clinical Endocrinology
|June 19, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Acromegaly disease activity, not hypertension, independently causes left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) in diverse populations. Chronically active somatotropic axis is a key factor in LVH development.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Endocrinology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Acromegaly can cause a specific cardiomyopathy, previously described mainly in Caucasians.
  • This cardiomyopathy is independent of other risk factors like hypertension.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess cardiac changes in acromegaly patients with diverse ethnic backgrounds.
  • To determine the role of disease activity and hypertension in acromegaly-related cardiac changes.

Main Methods:

  • A cross-sectional study with a control group.
  • Evaluated 37 acromegaly patients (varying skin tones) and 74 controls using echocardiography.
  • Matched controls for age, gender, and hypertension status.

Main Results:

  • 56.8% of acromegaly patients had left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) versus 10.8% in controls (P < 0.001).
  • Active acromegaly disease was strongly associated with LVH (OR = 5.925, P = 0.040), more so than hypertension (OR = 3.237, P = 0.132).
  • No significant differences in cardiac changes were found between Intermediate-skinned and Dark-skinned acromegaly patients.

Conclusions:

  • A chronically overactive somatotropic axis is an independent predictor of left ventricular hypertrophy in acromegaly.
  • Disease activity is a more significant factor in LVH development than hypertension in this admixed population.
  • Findings highlight the importance of managing acromegaly activity to prevent cardiac complications.
Abstract

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