The Prevalence of Chagas Disease Among Latin American Immigrants with Pacemakers in Los Angeles, California

Sandy Park Center of Excellence for Chagas Disease, Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, Sylmar, California.

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Daniel R. Sanchez Center of Excellence for Chagas Disease, Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, Sylmar, California.

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Mahmoud I. Traina Center of Excellence for Chagas Disease, Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, Sylmar, California.

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Jason S. Bradfield Center of Excellence for Chagas Disease, Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, Sylmar, California.

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Salvador Hernandez Center of Excellence for Chagas Disease, Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, Sylmar, California.

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Alvaro Joaquin Altamirano Ufion Center of Excellence for Chagas Disease, Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, Sylmar, California.

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Jalal Dufani Center of Excellence for Chagas Disease, Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, Sylmar, California.

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Patrick Bergin Center of Excellence for Chagas Disease, Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, Sylmar, California.

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Robin Y. Wachsner Center of Excellence for Chagas Disease, Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, Sylmar, California.

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Sheba K. Meymandi Center of Excellence for Chagas Disease, Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, Sylmar, California.

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DOI:
https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.16-0826
Volume/Issue:
Volume 96: Issue 5
Page(s):
1139–1142
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Chagas disease (CD), with associated conduction abnormalities, is a common indication for pacemaker implantation in Latin America. The prevalence of CD in Latin American immigrants with pacemakers residing in the United States has never been studied. This single-center cross-sectional study included pacemaker patients who were aged 18 years or more with a previous residence in Latin America for at least 6 months. Patients with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator, cardiac resynchronization therapy, or iatrogenic and/or congenital heart block were excluded. Serological testing for Trypanosoma cruzi was performed at enrollment. A total of 80 patients were enrolled, and CD was diagnosed in six patients (7.5%). Patients with CD were more likely to be from El Salvador (P = 0.001). Other clinical, therapeutic, electrocardiographic, and echocardiographic variables were similar between the CD and non-CD groups. There is a high prevalence of CD among Latin American immigrants with pacemakers in Los Angeles.

Author Notes

* Address correspondence to Daniel R. Sanchez, Center of Excellence for Chagas Disease, Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, 14445 Olive View Drive, Room 2C-121, Sylmar, CA 91342. E-mail: drsanchez@ucla.edu

Authors' addresses: Sandy Park, Daniel R. Sanchez, Mahmoud I. Traina, Jason S. Bradfield, Salvador Hernandez, Alvaro Joaquin Altamirano Ufion, Jalal Dufani, Patrick Bergin, Robin Y. Wachsner, and Sheba K. Meymandi, Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, Sylmar, CA, E-mails: sandy34@gmail.com, drsanchez@ucla.edu, mitraina@gmail.com, jbradfield@mednet.ucla.edu, salhernandez@dhs.lacounty.gov, ajlatino2002@yahoo.com, jdufani@yahoo.com, n1goalie33@gmail.com, rwachsner@dhs.lacounty.gov, and smeymandi@dhs.lacounty.gov.

Copyright:
© The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 2017
Received:
21 Oct 2016
|
Accepted:
31 Jan 2017
|
Published Online:
03 May 2017
Cover The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Print ISSN:
0002-9637
Online ISSN:
1476-1645
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