well bloodpressure caught out the conditon as I was being put one bloodpressure tablet after another..I have got off the talets now..on one ..the drug somatuline has helped..its stablized my BP.. I also had my heart checked ..which is a good idea if youre on the drug cabergoline..

There are bound to be some implications for the heart for most acromegalics. My blood pressure went up from lovely and low to consistently 140/90 or higher... and continued high despite treatment for around 10 years until acromegaly was diagnosed. In that time, I developed some left ventricular hypertrophy (as many people with hypertension do).

In the year before my surgery, I remember unpleasant chest pains, despite being on up to three antihypertensives. Luckily, these disappeared right after surgery and never came back (unfortunately the hypertension did).

John

If you haven't had an echochardiogram done yet, your doctors should order one. They use a sonogram to look at your heart in order to see if it is enlarged. Like the others said, the other issues to keep an eye on are hypertension and diabetes, which can affect your heart.

A good way to figure out how long you've had the disease is to look back through old pictures to see if you notice any changes. Other than that, the onset of high blood pressure or elevated blood sugar are good indicators of when the disease started causing problems.

For me, I can clearly remember the first pair of shoes I grew out of as an adult because they were a favorite pair. I know I had it before then.

My blood pressure has always been pretty decent. However, my pulse rate was astronomical (144 lying down) until I started taking atenolol, and I was a sweating fool. Later, sleep apnea. Other problems thereafter.

Another question about the heart examination for acromegaly... the chemical stress test sent me into heavy tremors of parkonsonism. Is this due to the chemical, or could it be a symptom sometimes of acromegaly, or is it just unrelated?

Fortunately I was diagnosed early, the Cardiologist said my heart was a text book example with the sonogram. I was needless to say very relieved. My blood pressure is in check and controlled with medication. For the past two years it has been exemplary...

Before I was diagnosed I was through the roof, exercised, tried everything. Massive headaches from the pit tumor... Anyways, better now ;0)

My test came back basically normal! I was surprised. Some hypertrophy in the LV, consistent with age.

An increase in shoe size when I was 40 ( I am now 69) was the first indication I had of acromegaly. Regarding the effects of acromegaly on my heart, my echo test revealed a 1/3 enlargement of the heart muscle which led to the development of atrial fibrillation which contributes to the fatigue problem. My cardiologist says my heart is healthy and strong, it just beats when it wants to. We are not treating the fibrillation issue, Doc says not to worry about it. So far the murmurs are minor and causing no alarm. So, I just deal with the fatigue and keep on going.

Larry, can you explain the nature of the fatigue? I sometimes have breathing issues, and can walk only a short distance. I can't stay standing long. Yet my heart tests pretty well. Exactly what is the fatigue like? Thanks.

Vincent,
You mentioned "Parkinsonian tremors" of your hands. Do you have Parkinson's? I have a hereditary hand tremor that is related to mitral valve prolapse (MVP) in my heart. Taking a beta blocker makes the tremor go away. Just wondered if you know what caused yours.