No evidence of a detrimental effect of cabergoline therapy on cardiac valves in patients with acromegaly

Abstract

Context: The effects of cabergoline on cardiac valves have been extensively studied in Parkinson's disease and hyperprolactinemia but not in acromegaly, a condition at risk of cardiac valve abnormalities. Objective: We examined the prevalence and incidence of heart valve disease and regurgitation in a series of patients with acromegaly treated with cabergoline, by comparison with matched patients who had never received this drug. Design and Setting: Weconducted a cross-sectional and longitudinal study in a single referral center. Patients and Methods: Forty-two patients who had received cabergoline at a median cumulative dose of 203mgfor a median of 35 months were compared to 46 patients with acromegalywhohad never received cabergoline and who were matched for age, sex, and disease duration. A subgroup of patients receiving cabergoline (n = 26) was evaluated longitudinally before and during cabergoline treatment and compared to a group not receiving cabergoline and followed during the same period (n = 26). Two-dimensional and Doppler echocardiographic findings were reviewed by two cardiologists blinded to treatment. Results: Demographic and clinical features were not significantly different between the groups. Comparedto acromegalic controls, patients receiving cabergoline did not have a higher prevalence or incidence of valve abnormalities. A slightly higher prevalence of aortic valve regurgitation and remodeling was found in the controls relative to the cabergoline-treated patients (P<0.02 and P<0.03, respectively), but this was related to the presence of aortic dilatation. Conclusion: Cabergoline therapy is not associated with an increased risk of cardiac valve regurgitation or remodeling in acromegalic patients at the doses used in this study. Copyright © 2012 by The Endocrine Society.