2010 年 49 巻 19 号 p. 2117-2121
Acromegaly is characterized by chronic hypersecretion of growth hormone (GH) and is associated with increased mortality rate because of the potential complications such as cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, or malignancy, which are probably caused by the long-term exposure of tissues to excess GH, for at least 10 years, before diagnosis and treatment.
A 22-year-old man with a 2-month history of fatigue was admitted to our hospital because of chest discomfort, dyspnea, and pitting edema of the lower limbs experienced over a 1-month period. On admission, his height and body weight were 186 cm and 138.5 kg, respectively, with a BMI of 39.8 kg/m2. He showed acromegalic features and elevated serum GH and IGF-1 levels, which were 11.5 ng/mL and 960 ng/mL, respectively. There was no GH suppression in the 75-g oral glucose tolerance test. Pituitary magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed microadenoma. Chest X-ray revealed cardiomegaly, and echocardiogram showed dilated left ventricular (LV) cavity and diffuse hypokinesis with extremely decreased ejection fraction (EF). He was diagnosed as having acromegaly with congestive heart failure from diastolic cardiomyopathy.
After the successful transsphenoidal resection of the pituitary adenoma, the level of GH was normalized. However, the cardiac dysfunction did not show any improvement even after the administration of β-blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACE-I), or diuretics. The patient was re-hospitalized, and he died of cardiac failure at the age of 25 years.
Patients with acromegaly have been reported to have about 30% higher mortality rate, and cardiovascular disease accounts for 60% of the deaths. We report a case of a patient with juvenile acromegaly who was diagnosed with severe cardiac failure at the time of diagnosis and failed to recover cardiac function even after the successful resection of the pituitary adenoma. Immediate diagnosis and treatment are required for better control of acromegalic cardiomyopathy.
