Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2024 May 27;16(5):e61189.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.61189. eCollection 2024 May.

An Uncommon Presentation of Unstable Ventricular Tachycardia: Raising Awareness for Early Recognition of Chagas Disease

Saimanoj Guntaka  1 , Allan Lin  1 , Suhwoo Bae  1 , Michael Vaysblat  1 , Matthew Pierce  2
Affiliations
Case Reports

An Uncommon Presentation of Unstable Ventricular Tachycardia: Raising Awareness for Early Recognition of Chagas Disease

Saimanoj Guntaka et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Chagas disease (CD), caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, is a leading cause of cardiomyopathy in Latin America that can lead to heart failure, arrhythmias, and sudden cardiac death (SCD). We present a case of a 71-year-old female from El Salvador with symptomatic ventricular tachycardia (VT) requiring emergent cardioversion and implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) due to CD. Diagnostic evaluation is limited and unclear in cases of chronic disease. Treatment involves antiparasitic therapy, heart failure management, and arrhythmia prevention. With growing numbers of cases in the US and limited treatment options, we highlight the need for timely recognition and intervention to reduce the burden of CD.

Keywords: chagas cardiomyopathy; implantable-cardioverter defibrillator; sudden cardiac death (scd); trypanosoma cruzi; ventricular tachycardia (vt).

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Human subjects: Consent was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Electrocardiogram
(A) Admission EKG showing monomorphic VT at over 200 beats per minute, and (B) EKG during the hospitalization course showed persistent premature atrial complexes along with a right bundle branch block. VT: ventricular tachycardia
Figure 2
Figure 2. TTE
TTE demonstrating basal inferior wall aneurysm in the apical two-chamber view. TTE: transthoracic echocardiogram
Figure 3
Figure 3. Cardiac angiography
(A) Right and (B) left coronary arteries with non-obstructing coronary disease.
Figure 4
Figure 4. CMR
Aneurysmal dilatation (white arrows) of the basal inferior and inferolateral left ventricular wall in (A) transverse and (B) sagittal views. CMR: cardiovascular magnetic resonance
Figure 5
Figure 5. CMR with contrast
LGE is shown with a white arrow on a CMR short-axis view. LGE was present in multiple mid-myocardial segments. LGE: late gadolinium enhancement; CMR: cardiovascular magnetic resonance
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. CDC: Chagas disease. [ Apr; 2024 ]. https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/chagas/index.html. https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/chagas/index.html.
    1. The epidemiology, clinical manifestations, and management of Chagas heart disease. Malik LH, Singh GD, Amsterdam EA. Clin Cardiol. 2015;38:565–569. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hospitalization for Chagas heart disease in the United States from 2002 to 2017. Lima NA, Martin DT, de Castro RL Jr, Ladzinski A, Ring A, Vos D, Melgar TA. JAMA Netw Open. 2021;4:0. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Advanced therapies for ventricular arrhythmias in patients with Chagasic cardiomyopathy: JACC state-of-the-art review. Romero J, Velasco A, Pisani CF, et al. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2021;77:1225–1242. - PubMed
    1. Chagas heart disease: a contemporary review. Velasco A, Morillo CA. J Nucl Cardiol. 2020;27:445–451. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources