No Evidence of a Detrimental Effect of Cabergoline Therapy on Cardiac Valves in Patients with Acromegaly

Abstract

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. 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. We conducted a cross-sectional and longitudinal study in a single referral center. Forty-two patients who had received cabergoline at a median cumulative dose of 203 mg for a median of 35 months were compared to 46 patients with acromegaly who had 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. Demographic and clinical features were not significantly different between the groups. Compared to 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. 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.