Chagas disease as a cause of heart failure and ventricular arrhythmias in patients long removed from endemic areas: an emerging problem in Europe

We report two examples of Chagas cardiomyopathy in South American women permanently residing in Italy for more than 20 years, presenting with cardiac manifestations ranging from left ventricular dysfunction and heart failure to isolated ventricular arrhythmias. The present review emphasizes that Chagas disease should be considered as a potential diagnosis in patients from endemic areas presenting with ‘idiopathic’ cardiac manifestations, even when long removed from their country of origin, with potential implications for treatment and control of Chagas disease transmission.
Source: Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine - Category: Cardiology Tags: Arrhythmias Source Type: research