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This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: EJE-08-0138v1 159/2/97    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Google Scholar Articles by van der Klaauw, A. A Articles by Pereira, A. M PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by van der Klaauw, A. A Articles by Pereira, A. M

Increased aortic root diameters in patients with acromegaly

Departments of¹ , Endocrinology and Metabolism² Cardiology, C4-R, Leiden University Medical Center, PO Box 9600, 2300 RC Leiden, The Netherlands

(Correspondence should be addressed to A A van der Klaauw; Email: a.a.van_der_klaauw{at}lumc.nl)

Objective: The clinical manifestations of acromegalic cardiomyopathy include arrhythmias, valvular regurgitation, concentric left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy, and LV systolic and diastolic dysfunction. At present, it is unknown whether acromegaly also affects the aortic root.

Design: Aortic root diameters were prospectively assessed in 37 acromegalic patients (18 patients with active disease and 19 with controlled disease) by conventional two-dimensional and Doppler echocardiography before, and after, an observation period of 1.9 years (range 1.5–3.0 years). Baseline parameters were compared with healthy controls.

Results: The diameters of the aortic root at the sino-tubular junction and the ascending aorta were increased in patients with acromegaly: 30±4 vs 26±3 mm (P=0.0001) and 33±5 vs 30±4 mm (P=0.006) respectively. The diameter of the aortic root at the aortic annulus and aortic sinus were not different from controls. During follow-up, the aortic root diameters increased at the levels of the annulus and the sinotubular junction (P=0.025 and P=0.024 respectively), whereas there was no change in the diameters at the levels of the sinus and the ascending aorta during follow-up. Baseline aortic root diameters were not influenced by disease duration, current disease activity, or blood pressure. When patients with active and inactive disease were analyzed separately, only the diameter of the sinotubular junction increased in patients with inactive acromegaly during follow-up (P=0.031).

Conclusion: Aortic root diameters are increased in patients with acromegaly compared with healthy controls.