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Ventricular function in Chagas' heart disease

1995; Medical Association of São Paulo; Volume: 113; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1590/s1516-31801995000200012

1806-9460

Benedito Carlos Maciel, Oswaldo César de Almeida Filho, André Schmidt, José Antônio Marin‐Neto,

Cardiomyopathy and Myosin Studies

Invasive and noninvasive methods used to evaluate ventricular function in Chagas's disease are reviewed. The traditional indices of overall ventricular performance reflect interaction of preload, contractility, afterload and heart rate. Therefore, they are unable to distinguish changes in contractility from modifications of loading conditions. The role of ventricular function as a predictor of mortality in chronic Chagas' heart disease is discussed. Ventricular function abnormalities in patients with indeterminate and digestive forms of Chagas' disease are especially emphasized. Finally, the evidence of early impairment of diastolic performance in patients with Chagas' disease is presented.