title: Prevalence of valvular heart disease in a cohort of patients taking cabergoline for management of hyperprolactinemia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the prevalence of valvular heart disease in a cohort of patients taking cabergoline for the management of hyperprolactinemia.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective review of medical records identified patients with hyperprolactinemia who underwent evaluation at Vanderbilt University Medical Center between January and June 2007. The medical records of those patients who were prescribed cabergoline and who underwent elective echocardiography were reviewed for details pertaining to cardiac valvular abnormalities and cabergoline use.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Forty-five patients (mean age, 41 +/- 10 years [SD]) taking 0.91 +/- 0.96 mg of cabergoline per week for a mean duration of 39 +/- 29 months underwent echocardiography. Abnormalities of the cardiac valves were present in 3 patients (7%): 1 patient exhibited mild mitral regurgitation, 1 patient had focal aortic valve thickening, and 1 patient demonstrated mitral valve thickening. We found no significant difference in either the cumulative dose of cabergoline (P = .800) or the duration of cabergoline therapy (P = .745) between those patients with and those without these echocardiographic abnormalities.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We found echocardiographic valve abnormalities in 3 of 45 patients (7%) who had been prescribed cabergoline for the management of hyperprolactinemia. This prevalence of valvular heart disease after approximately 3 years of cabergoline treatment is no different from that previously reported in normal populations as determined by echocardiography.
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrine Neoplasia and Hormonal Disorders, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA. jkdevin@mdanderson.org
authors.forename: Jessica K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Devin
authors.forename: Vipul T
authors.initials: VT
authors.lastname: Lakhani
authors.forename: Benjamin F
authors.initials: BF
authors.lastname: Byrd
authors.forename: Lewis S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Blevins
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000077465:Cabergoline; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004452:Echocardiography; D004873:Ergolines / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006349:Heart Valve Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced*; D006801:Humans; D006966:Hyperprolactinemia / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D004873:Ergolines; D000077465:Cabergoline