title: Cardiovascular involvement in patients affected by acromegaly: an appraisal.
abstract: Cardiovascular complications are frequent in acromegalic patients. Several studies reported increased prevalence of traditional cardiovascular risk factors and early development of endothelial dysfunction and of structural vascular alterations, with subsequent increased risk of coronary artery disease. Furthermore, chronic exposure to high levels of GH and IGF-I leads to the development of the so called "acromegalic cardiomyopathy", characterized by concentric biventricular hypertrophy, diastolic dysfunction and, additionally, by progressive impairment of systolic performance leading to overt heart failure. Cardiac valvulopathies and arrhythmias have also been documented and may concur to the deterioration of cardiac function. Together with strict control of cardiovascular risk factors, early control of GH and IGF-I excess, by surgical or pharmacological therapy, has been reported to ameliorate cardiac and metabolic abnormalities, leading to a significant reduction of left ventricular hypertrophy and to a consistent improvement of cardiac performance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Advanced Biomedical Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Susanna
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mosca
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Paolillo
authors.forename: Annamaria
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Colao
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bossone
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cittadini
authors.forename: Francesco Lo
authors.initials: FL
authors.lastname: Iudice
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Parente
authors.forename: Sirio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Conte
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rengo
authors.forename: Dario
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Leosco
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Trimarco
authors.forename: Pasquale Perrone
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Filardi
mesh_terms: D000172:Acromegaly / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000818:Animals; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002320:Cardiovascular Physiological Phenomena; D019382:Human Growth Hormone / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D019382:Human Growth Hormone