Clinical and epidemiological study of chronic heart involvement in Chagas' disease.

It has been estimated that, in vast areas of the American continent, there is a high prevalence of human infection by Trypanosoma cruzi. Such infection can lead to a variety of heart diseases, predominantly with involvement of the myocardium. The aim of the present work was to determine the prevalence of heart disease in two rural areas of Venezuela with a high endemicity of Chagas' disease and to try to determine the natural history of the disease. It is shown that a form of chronic myocardial disease in patients with positive specific serology and good functional capacity is highly prevalent. Electrocardiographic patterns typical of the initial and developing stages of the disease, as well as early abnormalities of the cardiac rhythm, are described and illustrated. The present work forms part of a longitudinal study still in progress.