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Confirmation of Chagas' cardiomyopathy following heart transplantation

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Abstract

We report a case of Chagas' cardiomyopathy confirmed in a patient after heart transplantation. The patient initially presented with symptoms of congestive heart failure and was found to have positive serology for prior Trypanosoma cruzi infection. Despite optimal medical management, the patient had deterioration of his cardiac function and he underwent heart transplantation. Pathology examination of the explanted heart confirmed Chagas' cardiomyopathy. The cardiac sequelae of Chagas' disease include arrhythmias, aneurysm, thromboembolism, cardiomyopathy, and sudden death. We review the epidemiology, cardiac pathology, and evaluation of patients with Chagas' cardiac disease. We discuss the clinical features of Chagas' cardiomyopathy and available treatments including cardiac transplantation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, 1914 N 34th Street, Suite 105, Seattle, WA, 98103, USA

    Binh An P. Phan, April Stempien-Otero & Wayne C. Levy

  2. Department of Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Michael A. Laflamme

  3. Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Ajit P. Limaye & Frederick S. Buckner

Authors
  1. Binh An P. Phan
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  2. Michael A. Laflamme
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  3. April Stempien-Otero
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  4. Ajit P. Limaye
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  5. Frederick S. Buckner
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  6. Wayne C. Levy
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Binh An P. Phan.

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Phan, B., Laflamme, M., Stempien-Otero, A. et al. Confirmation of Chagas' cardiomyopathy following heart transplantation. Heart Vessels 21, 325–327 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00380-005-0899-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00380-005-0899-4

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