Late potentials and ventricular arrhythmias in acromegaly.

BACKGROUND

Sudden death and increased prevalence of ventricular arrhythmias have already been described in acromegaly. Although late potentials (LPs) have been proved to be a new technique in detecting patients at risk for ventricular tachyarrhythmias its use in acromegaly is still unknown.

METHODS

We studied 70 acromegalic patients [32 males, 38 females; age 49+/-12 years (mean+/-S.D.)] and 70 control subjects age- and sex-matched [(35 males and 35 females; 46+/-12 years (mean+/-S.D.)]. Besides hormonal tests, we performed the following cardiovascular investigations: ECG, 24-h ECG Holter monitoring, echocardiography, and signal-averaged ECG (SAECG) time-domain analysis.

RESULTS

LPs occurrence was significantly higher in acromegalic patients as compared to the control group (22.9% vs. 2.9%; p=0.001). A greater duration of disease in patients with positive LPs compared to negative ones was pointed out (18 vs. 12 years; p=0.024). In the group of acromegalic patients with positive LPs we observed a significant association with premature ventricular complexes (PVCs) detected by means of 24-h Holter ECG recording (13 out of 15 patients: 86.7%; p=0.024). The positivity or negativity of LPs proved to be significantly associated with Lown scale PVC trends recorded by 24-h Holter ECG (p=0.014). In the group of patients with left ventricular hypertrophy a significant and pathological worsening of SAECG signals (QRS, LAS, RMS) was documented.

CONCLUSIONS

We observed a higher prevalence of LPs in acromegaly which significantly correlated with Lown scale of PVCs.