Analysis of electrical heart alterations associated with chagas disease

Abstract

Chagas disease, also known as American trypanosomiasis, is characterized by indirect human interaction with an insect vector. It is transmitted to humans through the feces of a triatomine bug (vinchuca), congenitally, via blood transfusion, orally, or through organ transplantation. The disease is named after its discoverer, Dr. Carlos Chagas, in 1909. The present study was conducted using a descriptive, cross-sectional design, as data were collected over a specific period from the target location, with the aim of analyzing cardiac alterations related to Chagas disease. The main objective is to analyze the electrical alterations of the heart associated with Chagas disease in patients from the South Health Network, Comibol Neighborhood, during the period from March to June. Ethical guidelines and considerations such as the Declaration of Helsinki were followed. The statistical software SPSS was used. Among the 63 electrocardiograms analyzed, most showed some form of alteration. The most frequent was a mild right QRS axis deviation (27%), followed by left axis deviation associated with hypertension (23.8%) and first-degree AV block (17.5%). Only 14.3% of the cases were normal. The ANOVA analysis showed statistically significant differences in mean age according to electrocardiogram (ECG) diagnosis (F = 3.299; p = 0.026), indicating that age varies depending on the type of electrical alteration detected.