Cardiac function in patients with Paget disease of bone: standard and advanced echocardiographic study

Abstract Background/Introduction Paget’s disease of bone (PDB) is a common metabolic bone disorder and cardiovascular diseases are considered a possible PDB metabolic complication. Heart complications have only been described anecdotally as high-output heart failure due to high blood flow when skeletal involvement is extensive. Purpose Scientific studies that compare the structural and functional characteristics of the heart in this population are few and dated. The aims of this study were to evaluate echocardiographic parameters in PDB patients. Methods 60 PDB patients and 115 control subjects, matched by age, weight, height and history of arterial hypertension were enrolled. All subjects underwent to standard and advanced echocardiography examination. Results PBD patients showed a lower values of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) (60,86 ± 4,51 vs 62,79 ± 4,30%, p 0,007), global longitudinal strain (GLS) (21,42 ± 2,20 vs 22,35 ± 2,21%, p 0,021) and myocardial work efficiency (MWE) (94,1 ± 2,0 vs 95,4 ± 2,9%, p 0,021), and higher values of interventricular septum thickness (IVSd) (9,9 ± 1,4 vs 9,1 ± 1,4 mm; p 0,003), and relative wall thickness (RWT) (0,38 ± 0,07 vs 0,35 ± 0,07, p 0,031) compared to controls, while there were no significant difference between the other parameters analyzed (Table 1). Calcification and/or sclerosis of aortic valve was detected in 26 PDB patients (43,3%) compared to 27 subjects (23,5%) in control group (Fisher’s exact test p-value = 0,006). Calcification and/or sclerosis of mitral annulus was detected in 14 PDB patients (23,3%) compared to 12 controls (11,6%) (Fisher’s exact test p-value = 0,022) (Table 2). Conclusion The study results support the hypothesis that PDB is a systemic condition, influencing cardiac function and structure, associated with increased cardiovascular risk. Our data showed that myocardial function in PDB patients is impaired. The lower resting values of LVEF, GLS and MWE represent an early subclinical myocardial damage.Table 1Table 2