Three-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography-derived left atrial deformation analysis in acromegaly (Results...

Acromegaly is a chronic and disfiguring hormonal disease caused by a benign growth hormone-secreting pituitary adenoma in most of the cases. The objective of this study was to investigate three-dimensional (3D) speckle tracking echocardiography (3DSTE)-derived left atrial (LA) volumetric and functional properties in patients with acromegaly. It was also examined whether the activity of acromegaly is associated with further alterations in these LA parameters.

A total of 23 patients with acromegaly were involved in this study. Due to inadequate image quality, 4 patients were excluded from the 3DSTE analysis. The mean age of the remaining acromegalic subjects was 58.5 ± 13.1 years (7 males). The control group consisted of 21 age- and gender-matched healthy subjects (mean age 51.8 ± 10.3 years, 10 males).

Maximum (44.8 ± 12.7 mL vs 78.7 ± 25.4 mL, P < .05), minimum (24.1 ± 9.0 mL vs 44.5 ± 15.5 mL, P < .05), and preatrial contraction (35.5 ± 11.2 mL vs 66.0 ± 22.8 mL, P < .05) LA volumes were significantly different between all acromegaly patients compared with controls. Increased peak global and mean segmental radial and 3D strains and decreased LA circumferential strain (CS) could be detected in all acromegaly patients as compared to healthy subjects. Significant correlation could be detected between insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) index and peak superior LA-CS (r = .49, P = .05) in acromegaly.

Acromegaly is associated with increased LA volumes and changes in LA functional properties.