Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator therapy for primary prevention of sudden cardiac death in patients with severe Chagas cardiomyopathy.

摘要

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) affects about half of patients who died of Chagas disease followed at a referral center, and may victim up to 20% of patients without any evidence of heart disease [1], In the vast majority of cases, SCD is caused by either sustained ventricular tachycardia (VT) degenerating into ventricular fibrillation (VF) or direct VF[1].In patients with non-Chagas disease dilated cardiomyopathy and left ventricular ejection fraction <35%, Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator (ICD) delivered-therapy has been recommended by international guidelines to avert SCD [2]. Conversely, the impact of ICD therapy in patients with Chagas cardiomyopathy and a left ventricular ejection fraction <35% is unknown. Accordingly, we report herein our initial experience with ICD-delivered therapy in patients with severe Chagas cardiomyopathy.