Published in:
01-12-2020 | Computed Tomography | Images that Teach
Can PET/CT be useful in predicting ventricular arrhythmias in Chagas Disease?
Authors:
Renata Junqueira Moll-Bernardes, MD, PhD, Renée Sarmento de Oliveira, MD, Adriana Soares Xavier de Brito, MD, Sergio Altino de Almeida, MD, Paulo Henrique Rosado-de-Castro, MD, PhD, Andréa Silvestre de Sousa, MD, PhD
Published in:
Journal of Nuclear Cardiology
|
Issue 6/2020
Login to get access
Excerpt
Ventricular arrhythmias are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with Chagas disease and may occur even before significant left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction. Cardiac Chagas disease is characterized by chronic persistent myocardial inflammation, which plays a central role in the genesis of arrhythmias due to irreversible cell damage and scar formation. In addition, active inflammation may increase the automaticity within inflamed areas, or act as a trigger for re-entry in the presence of fibrosis. …
