Clinical and echocardiographic characteristics after six months of sacubitril/valsartan in Chagas heart disease - A case series

Chagas cardiomyopathy is the most prevalent non-ischaemic cardiomyopathy in Latin America, with high morbidity and mortality even today. Treatment of these patients is based on the use of medications for heart failure. This study evaluated a case series of patients with Chagas heart disease who used sacubitril/valsartan at a referral hospital for this disease in Brazil. After 6 months, there was a symptomatic improvement in these individuals assessed by the New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class, with a 44.3% reduction in the absolute number of patients classified as III-IV in the period (P = 0.035), but without changes in the parameters on the echocardiogram for reverse ventricular remodelling. There was a high mortality rate and number of hospitalizations. These results emphasize the importance of studying the use of sacubitril/valsartan in Chagas heart disease to better describe its effectiveness considering the particularities of these individuals.

Automated summary

A study in Brazil evaluated a case series of Chagas heart disease patients using sacubitril/valsartan, finding symptomatic improvement after 6 months but no changes in ventricular remodelling, with high mortality and hospitalization rates. These results highlight the importance of studying the effectiveness of sacubitril/valsartan in Chagas heart disease to better understand its impact on these individuals.