Clinical Research Directory

Cardiac Contractility Modulation in Chagas Heart Disease

Chagas disease is an endemic problem in Latin America, where millions of people are chronically infected with T. cruzi. Recently, it was assumed to have clinical and epidemiological relevance in several other countries due to migratory and globalizing social factors. CCC occurs in 30-50% of infected individuals, causing considerable morbidity/mortality rates. Heart failure is the most prevalent morbidity. While CRT and drug treatment have been advocated and implemented without much success to improve the clinical condition of patients with CCC, there is no consistent scientific evidence on the role of cardiac contractility modulation (CCM) as a form of adjuvant treatment for heart failure in patients with CCC. The hypothesis of this study is that patients with CCC, advanced heart failure, severe systolic dysfunction, and non-LBB have better clinical and functional responses when undergoing implantation of a CCM device than when undergoing cardiac resynchronization therapy.