Acromegaly and coronary disease : An integrated evaluation of conventional coronary risk factors and coronary calcifications detected by computed tomography

Context: Coronary atherosclerosis in acromegaly was not extensively investigated in the literature until now. At autopsy, it was demonstrated in about 20% of patients with long-lasting disease, and myocardial infarction was reported as cause of death in a quarter of acromegalics. Objective: The objective of the study was to evaluate coronary atherosclerosis in a cohort of acromegalics with controlled or uncontrolled disease. Design: Coronary risk was evaluated by the Framingham algorithm, according to the Framingham score (FS). Patients were stratified into low ( 20%) midterm risk. Coronary calcium deposits were detected by multidetector computed tomography and measured by the Agatston algorithm. Coronary artery calcium [Agatston score (AS)] was quantified at the level of left main artery, left anterior descendent artery, left circumflex artery, right coronary artery, and posterior descendent artery. Total AS values in healthy persons are less than 50 (aged < 60 yr) a...