[Chagasic cardiomyopathy in Mexico]

Chronic Chagas disease, has been reported in Mexico, but changes in left ventricular function are not well known. We describe 25 patients with chronic trypanosomiasis with congestive cardiomyopathy. All of them lived in zones where the parasitosis is endemic and showed EKG abnormalities compatible with cardiomyopathy: A-V block in 8, RBBB in 9, LBBB in 7, RBBB + LAHB in 4, arrhythmias and ST-S abnormalities in 9 patients. All patients have at least one positive serological test for T Cruzi: indirect haemagglutination in 9, counterimmunoelectrophoresis in 9, complement fixation in 14 and passive agglutination of Latex sensitized beads in 4. The parasite was found by xenodiagnosis in 4 out of 5 cases. All cases had a normal coronary arteriography. The left ventriculography showed hypokinesia or akinesia of the apical, anterolateral and diaphragmatic segments in 8 patients and apical dyskinesia in 2. The ejection fraction varied from 22.3% to 51.6% with a mean of 39%. Chagas disease is a health problem in Mexico and the patients who are hospitalized present severe cardiac involvement.