Arq. Bras. Cardiol. 2018; 111(1): 112-114
Left Ventricular Assist Device as a Bridge to Candidacy in End-stage Chagas Cardiomyopathy
DOI: 10.5935/abc.20180095
Introduction
Chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy manifests late after Trypanosoma cruzi infection, and it is still one of the major causes of end-stage heart failure in Latin America. Published experiences, with heart transplantation for chronic Chagas disease have shown the feasibility and efficacy of this therapy, being the disease reactivation not a major concern when appropriately diagnosed and timely treated.
Nevertheless, the need for some sort of mechanical circulatory support on the waiting list has progressively increased, according to the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation Registry annual report. Since the experience with mechanical circulatory support in Latin America is very limited, and biventricular systolic failure is common in Chagas cardiomyopathy, many unanswered questions regarding modalities of support need to be elucidated.
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