Prevalence of circulating Trypanosoma cruzi detected by polymerase chain reaction in patients with Chagas' cardiomyopathy

Amplification of Trypanosoma cruzi deoxyribonucleic acid by the polymerase chain reaction technique was performed in a clinically well-characterized group of patients with chronic Chagas' disease. A significant association between the presence of parasites and typical cardiac lesions was found, supporting an active role for Trypanosoma cruzi in the pathophysiologic mechanisms leading to chronic Chagas' cardiomyopathy.