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

Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2022 Feb;88(2):429-436. doi: 10.1111/bcp.14978. Epub 2021 Jul 31.

Abstract

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.

Keywords: Chagas cardiomyopathy; Chagas disease; heart failure; sacubitril/valsartan.

MeSH terms

  • Aminobutyrates / therapeutic use
  • Angiotensin Receptor Antagonists / therapeutic use
  • Biphenyl Compounds / therapeutic use
  • Drug Combinations
  • Echocardiography
  • Heart Failure* / chemically induced
  • Heart Failure* / diagnostic imaging
  • Heart Failure* / drug therapy
  • Humans
  • Stroke Volume
  • Tetrazoles* / therapeutic use
  • Treatment Outcome
  • Valsartan

Substances

  • Aminobutyrates
  • Angiotensin Receptor Antagonists
  • Biphenyl Compounds
  • Drug Combinations
  • Tetrazoles
  • sacubitril
  • Valsartan