Arq Bras Cardiol: Imagem cardiovasc. 2023; 36(3): e20230075
Role of Strain Echocardiography in the Evaluation of Patients with Chagas Disease
DOI: 10.36660/abcimg.20230075i
Chagas disease continues to be a significant public health challenge, affecting approximately six million people worldwide. With increasing globalization, Trypanosoma cruzi has already been detected in regions that were not previously considered endemic for the transmission vector, thus becoming one of the main neglected parasites. Although a percentage of infected individuals remain asymptomatic in the chronic indeterminate form of the disease, it is estimated that 2% to 3% of all patients annually progress to the cardiac form. Chagas heart disease was the most severe manifestation of Chagas disease, clinically appearing with heart failure, ventricular and supraventricular arrhythmias, conduction disorders, and embolic events.
The echocardiogram is an important propaedeutic method in the evaluation of patients with Chagas disease, especially in the presence of Chagas heart disease. In general, the echocardiogram investigates parameters related to the analysis of segmental contractility and global systolic function, which is essential for the treatment and prognosis of the disease. However, even well-established variables in the literature, such as ejection fraction, face challenges in simulating all the pathological aspects of Chagas disease.
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Keywords: Cardiomyopathies; Chagas disease
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