title: [Relationship between ventricular arrhythmia and cardiac function in Chagas disease].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  It is well established the association between heart failure and arrhythmias in different cardiopathies. There are no studies in Chagas' myocardiopathy that analyze the relation between arrhythmias and left ventricular function.
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied 629 patients with Chagas' disease, divided in 3 groups, according to ejection fraction obtained through echocardiographic study (normal, between 0.64 and 0.45, and below 0.44).
  
  
  RESULTS
  At conventional ECG, the presence of ventricular arrhythmias was respectively in the 3 groups: 15%, 36% and 64%, showing higher incidence when left ventricular function was getting worse.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Ventricular arrhythmias in Chagas' disease are frequent in patients with normal ejection fraction, and become more intense as ventricular dysfunction progresses.
authors.affiliation: Instituto do Coração do Hospital das Clínicas, FMUSP, São Paulo.
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Barretto
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mady
authors.forename: B M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Ianni
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Arteaga
authors.forename: R H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Cardoso
authors.forename: P L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: da Luz
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pileggi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001145:Arrhythmias, Cardiac / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002598:Chagas Cardiomyopathy / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002648:Child; D004452:Echocardiography; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000469:parasitology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D013318:Stroke Volume; D016276:Ventricular Function / Q000502:physiology
vernacular_title: Relação entre arritmia ventricular e função cardíaca na doença de Chagas.