Sérgio Salles Xavier. Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Nacional de Infectologia Evandro Chagas. Documento produzido em parceria ou por autor vinculado à Fiocruz, mas não consta a informação no documento.Background: Acromegaly is associated with increased cardiovascular mortality, and increased aortic root diameter has been recently described in the literature as a possible feature of acromegalic cardiomyopathy. Objective: To assess the aortic root diameter and the prevalence of aortic ectasia in acromegalic patients. Patients and methods This paper presents a transversal analysis of 42 acromegalic patients by Doppler echocardiogram and comparison with 42 age, sex, body surface area and hypertension matched controls. Results: The mean aortic root diameter at the level of the aortic leaflets was increased in acromegalic patients when compared to controls (3Æ4±0Æ5 vs 2Æ9±0Æ4 cm, respectively, P < 0Æ0001). The aortic root diameter was significantly greater in men than in women (3Æ6±0Æ6 cm vs 3Æ2±0Æ4 cm, respectively, P = 0Æ004), and the left ventricular mass index was positively correlated with the diameter of the aorta (r = 0Æ37, P = 0Æ01). Using a cut-off point ‡ 3Æ8 cm, an aortic ectasia prevalence of 26Æ1 vs 2Æ3% was found in acromegalic patients and controls, respectively (P = 0Æ002). Only acromegaly was associated with aortic ectasia (P = 0Æ01). Conclusion The aortic root diameter was higher, and the prevalence of aortic ectasia was more common in acromegalic patients than in controls. In addition, only acromegalic disease was associated with aortic ectasia, suggesting the direct effects of GH and insulin-like growth factor-I excess on the cardiovascular system.2020-11-11