Standard and advanced echocardiographic study of patients with Paget's disease of bone: Evidence of a pagetic heart disease?

Background

Paget's disease of the bone (PDB) is a metabolic bone disorder involving one or more skeletal sites. Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) have been described in patients with PDB but have not been systematically analysed.

Objectives

This study aimed to compare standard and advanced (speckle-tracking) echocardiographic parameters measured in patients with PDB and controls matched for age, weight, height and history of hypertension but without metabolic bone disorders.

Methods

This multicentre case–control study included all patients with PDB referred to the Federico II and Siena Universities, Italy, from March 2019 to October 2022. During the same time, we enrolled at least one control for each patient, matched for age, sex, body mass index (BMI) and history of hypertension.

Results

Sixty-nine patients with PDB and 115 healthy controls were enrolled in this study. All patients with PDB were treated with zoledronic acid at the time of diagnosis. Compared with controls, on standard echocardiography, patients with PDB showed a high prevalence of aortic and mitral valve calcifications and/or sclerosis, reduced left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction, stroke volume, cardiac output, increased interventricular septum thickness, posterior wall thickness, LV mass index, relative wall thickness, relative diastolic wall thickness, E/e′ ratio and systemic vascular resistance. Using speckle-tracking echocardiography, patients with PDB showed a lower global longitudinal strain and global myocardial work efficiency than controls. There was no relationship between the PDB activity and extent and severity of cardiac abnormalities.

Conclusion

Overall, the myocardial function and structure were impaired in patients with PDB. Additionally, PDB was associated with early subclinical myocardial damage.