State-of-the-Art Paper
Chagas Disease: An Overview of Clinical and Epidemiological Aspects

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2013.05.046Get rights and content
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Chagas disease, caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, is a serious health problem in Latin America and is an emerging disease in non-endemic countries. In recent decades, the epidemiological profile of the disease has changed due to new patterns of immigration and successful control in its transmission, leading to the urbanization and globalization of the disease. Dilated cardiomyopathy is the most important and severe manifestation of human chronic Chagas disease and is characterized by heart failure, ventricular arrhythmias, heart blocks, thromboembolic phenomena, and sudden death. This article will present an overview of the clinical and epidemiological aspects of Chagas disease. It will focus on several clinical aspects of the disease, such as chronic Chagas disease without detectable cardiac pathology, as well as dysautonomia, some specific features, and the principles of treatment of chronic cardiomyopathy.

Key Words

Chagas disease
dilated cardiomyopathy
heart failure

Abbreviations and Acronyms

ChD
Chagas disease
E/e'
early transmitral flow velocity to the early diastolic velocity of the mitral annulus
ECG
electrocardiogram
ICD
implantable cardioverter-defibrillator
LV
left ventricle/ventricular
VT
ventricular tachycardia

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Dr. Dones has served as speaker for Merck. Dr. Morillo has financial relationships with Merck and Biotronik. All other authors have reported that they have no relationships relevant to the contents of this paper to disclose.