Current and emerging therapeutic options for the treatment of chronic chagasic cardiomyopathy

Abstract

Chagas' disease is an endemic disease in Latin America caused by a unicellular parasite (Trypanosoma cruzi) that affects almost 18 million people. This condition involves the heart, causing heart failure, arrhythmias, heart block, thromboembolism, stroke, and sudden death. In this article, we review the current and emerging treatment of Chagas' cardiomyopathy focusing mostly on management of heart failure and arrhythmias. Heart failure therapeutical options including drugs, stem cells and heart transplantation are revised. Antiarrhythmic drugs, catheter ablation, and intracardiac devices are discussed as well. Finally, the evidence for a potential role of specific antiparasitic treatment for the prevention of cardiovascular disease is reviewed. © 2010 Muratore and Baranchuk, publisher and licensee Dove Medical Press Ltd.