Case report: Malignant ventricular arrhythmias mimicking acute coronary syndrome in Chagas disease

Abstract

Chronic Chagas heart disease has different clinical manifestations including arrhythmias, heart failure, and stroke. Chest pain is one of the most common symptoms and when associated with changes in the electrocardiogram, such as T-wave changes, electrically inactive areas, and segmental wall motion abnormalities, may lead to a misdiagnosis of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Here, we describe two patients with Chagas heart disease and syncope due to sustained ventricular tachycardia who were misdiagnosed with ACS, and discuss the role of novel imaging modalities in the differential diagnosis and risk stratification.