Objective: To analyze the venous endothelial function in Chagas' disease patients without heart failure.
Methods: The Chagas' disease Group (G1) was composed by 14 women and 2 men aged 46 +/- 2.7 and the Control Group (G0) by 7 women and 1 man matched by age, weight and height. Dorsal Hand Vein Compliance Technique was used to evaluate the venous endothelial function. Crescent doses of phenylephrine were infused to get a 70% pre-constriction of the vein; after that, acetylcholine and sodium nitroprusside were respectively administrated to analyze the endothelium-dependent and -independent venodilation.
Results: No significant systemic hemodynamic changes were observed in both groups during the experiment. The necessary phenylephrine dose to reach 70% pre-constriction of the vein was significantly higher in the G1 (1116 +/- 668.2 ng/ml) compared to G0 (103 +/- 28 ng/ml) p = 0.05. The endothelium-dependent venous dilation was significantly lower in G1 (65.5 +/- 8%) compared to G0 (137 +/- 20%) p = 0.009. No difference was observed in the endothelium-independent venous dilatation between groups.
Conclusion: Patients with Chagas' disease without heart failure presented venous endothelial dysfunction.