A patient with Chagas heart disease may experience sudden death. Identification of risk factors can help target patients for intervention.
Major predictors of sudden death:
(1) ventricular dysfunction (reduced ventricular ejection fraction)
(2) unsustained ventricular tachycardia (typically seen during Holter monitoring)
(3) sustained ventricular tachycardia
(4) recovery from cardiac arrest
(5) severe bradyarrhythmia (sinus node dysfunction, advanced A-V block)
(6) syncope of cardiac origin
A patient with one or more of these findings may benefit from diagnostic and therapeutic interventions.
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Specialty: Infectious Diseases
