title: Medical treatment of cardiac arrhythmias in Chagas' heart disease.
abstract: There are no controlled clinical trials evaluating drug therapy in patients with ventricular arrhythmias and chronic chagasic cardiomyopathy. Empirical treatment with disopyramide (400-1, 1,000mg/d), phenytoin (4-6mg/d), mexiletine 600-1,200mg/d), propafenone (900mg/d), amiodarone (loading: 1,000mg/d, 10-14 days; maintenance 200-600mg/d), and sotalol (320mg/d) had efficacy and tolerance ranging from 18% to 90% with heterogeneous criteria for efficacy definition. Further studies with homogenous criteria are required to determine which is most appropriate drug therapy for patients with chronic chagasic cardiomyopathy and ventricular arrhythmias.
authors.affiliation: Escola Paulista de Medicina - São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: de Paola
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Gondin
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Hara
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mendonça
mesh_terms: D000889:Anti-Arrhythmia Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001145:Arrhythmias, Cardiac / Q000188:drug therapy*; D002598:Chagas Cardiomyopathy / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D006801:Humans; D011379:Prognosis; D017180:Tachycardia, Ventricular / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology
chemical_list: D000889:Anti-Arrhythmia Agents