Background: Left atrial (LA) and left ventricular (LV) diastolic function analysis can yield new strategies to recognize early cardiac involvement and prognostic indicators in Chagas disease.
Methods: Patients with Chagas disease with the indeterminate (n = 69) or with the cardiac form (32 with changes limited to electrocardiography [stage A], 25 with changes in LV systolic function but no heart failure [HF; stage B], and 26 with HF) underwent evaluation of LV diastolic function (mitral inflow, pulmonary vein flow, color M-mode echocardiography, and tissue Doppler analysis), and LA function by three-dimensional echocardiography and strain analysis and were prospectively followed for the occurrence of clinical events. Echocardiograms were also obtained from 32 controls.