Acromegaly patients at increased risk for cardiovascular diseases: European Heart Journal

Republic of Korea: Acromegaly patients were shown to be at increased risk for atrial fibrillation, congestive heart failure, and all-cause mortality in a new study. Acromegaly was associated with an increased risk of atrial fibrillation over time. The findings of this study were published in European Heart Journal on 4th December 2021.

A typical consequence of acromegaly is cardiovascular disease therefore this study was conducted by Sangmo Hong and the team with the objective to evaluate the risk of cardiovascular disease and death in acromegaly patients in a large-scale population in Korea utilizing countrywide data.

Researchers conducted a countrywide, retrospective, observational cohort analysis of patients with acromegaly (n = 1874) and age- and sex-matched adults without acromegaly (n = 9370) over a mean follow-up of 7.5 3.2 years for this study. Myocardial infarction, stroke, atrial fibrillation, congestive heart failure, and all-cause mortality were the study's results. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was used to examine all outcomes while adjusting for age, gender, family income, location, Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidemia.

The results stated as follow:

1. Atrial fibrillation (3.06 vs. 1.70), congestive heart failure (3.11 vs. 1.63), and all-cause death (6.31 vs. 4.03) were also more common in acromegaly patients than in controls.

2. The incidence of myocardial infarction and stroke, however, did not differ across groups.

3. After controlling for covariates, patients with acromegaly had a significantly higher risk of atrial fibrillation [hazard ratio (HR): 1.59], congestive heart failure (HR: 1.54), and all-cause mortality (HR: 1.31).

4. In a time lag sensitivity analysis, acromegaly patients had a greater risk of atrial fibrillation only in the first four years following diagnosis when compared to controls (HR: 3.05).

In conclusion, the authors of this retrospective study looked at the risk of cardiovascular illness and death in acromegaly patients. In individuals with acromegaly, the incidence of atrial fibrillation, congestive heart failure (CHF), and all-cause mortality was much higher than in the general population. There was no statistically significant change in the incidence of stroke or myocardial infarction.

Reference:

Hong S, Kim KS, Han K, Park CY. Acromegaly and cardiovascular outcomes: a cohort study. Eur Heart J. 2021 Dec 4:ehab822. doi: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehab822. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34864952.