title: Mortality prediction in Chagas heart disease.
abstract: Chagas disease continues to be an important cause of cardiac disease in many countries of Latin America. Dilated cardiomyopathy constitutes the more severe manifestation and main cause of death in the disease. Typical clinical presentations include three basic syndromes: heart failure, cardiac arrhythmia and thromboembolism. The identification of markers related to the progression of Chagas heart disease is relevant for appropriate patient management. The most important predictors of death are New York Heart Association functional class, left ventricular systolic dysfunction and nonsustained ventricular tachycardia, which reflect the severity of myocardial damage. Several other potential prognostic factors have recently been reported. Scores for mortality prediction using a combination of prognostic variables have contributed to overall improvement in risk stratification in the setting of Chagas disease.
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil. mcarmo@waymail.com.br
authors.forename: Maria Carmo Pereira
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Nunes
authors.forename: Andre Assis Lopes do
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Carmo
authors.forename: Manoel Otávio Costa
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Rocha
authors.forename: Antonio Luiz
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers; D002598:Chagas Cardiomyopathy / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality* / Q000503:physiopathology; D018450:Disease Progression; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D011379:Prognosis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017180:Tachycardia, Ventricular / Q000209:etiology; D018487:Ventricular Dysfunction, Left / Q000209:etiology
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers