SPECT perfusion defects in chronic Chagas' disease: a correlation with cardiovascular magnetic resonance.

摘要

Chagas' disease is a zoonosis caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi.Acute Chagas' disease generally represents a mild illness. Ten percent to 30 of patients infected with T cruzi develop chronic Chagas' disease (CChD).2 One of the most commonly affected organs in CChD is the heart, where fibrosis, myocitolisis, microinfarcts, and mycrocitolisis can develop in varying degrees as a result of myocarditis, immunoallergic phenomena, and microvascular alterations.3 Chagas' cardiomyopathy has been classified as a specific inflammatory cardiomyopathy, which is defined as myocarditis in association with cardiac dysfunction.4 Echocardiographic studies may show motion abnormalities.5 The conduction system often is affected, resulting in right bundle-branch block, left anterior fascicular block, or complete atrioventricular block.