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Arquivos Brasileiros de CardiologiaResumo das Próximas PublicaçõesAno 2001
Chagas’ Heart Disease. Evolutive Evaluation of Electrocardiographic and Echocardiographic Parameters in Patients with the Indeterminate Form
Barbara Maria Ianni, Edmundo Arteaga, Clovis de Carvalho Frimm, Antonio Carlos Pereira Barretto, Charles Mady Objective - To identify and associate potential electrocardiographic and echocardiographic changes in patients with the indeterminate form of Chagas’ disease during long-term follow-up.
Methods - One hundred sixty patients underwent standard electrocardiography and two-dimensional guided M-mode echocardiography for left ventricular ejection fraction determination. Patients were followed up for 98.6±30.4 months, undergoing repeat electrocardiographic studies at 6-month intervals and echocardiographic studies 12-month intervals.
Results - Based on the electrocardiographic findings, the patients were divided into group I, 125 patients (78.6%) with normal electrocardiograms throughout follow-up, and group II, 34 patients (21.3%) who developed electrocardiographic changes. Group II was further divided into group IIA (9 patients, 5.6%) with permanent electrocardiographic changes, group IIB (14 patients, 8.8%) with transitory electrocardiographic changes, and group IIC (11 patients, 6.9%) with changes appearing only on the final electrocardiogram. Group IIA patients were older than group IIB and group I patients, but of comparable age to group IIC patients. Left ventricular ejection fractions remained normal in the entire population studied and did not differ among groups. Thus, the appearance of electrocardiographic changes during follow-up was not accompanied by reduced ejection fraction.
Conclusion - The indeterminate form of Chagas’ disease clearly represents a benign condition with a favorable long-term prognosis. Although some patients develop electrocardiographic changes, left ventricular systolic function is well preserved.
Key words: Chagas’ heart disease, electrocardiographic changes, ejection fraction
Heart Institute (InCor) HC-FMUSP, University of São Paulo
Medical School
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