OBJECTIVE Autoantibodies cross-reacting with the β1 adrenergic receptor (anti-β1AR and anti-p2β) and cardiac myosin antigens (anti-B13) have been related to the pathogenesis of chronic Chagas heart disease (CCHD). Studies exploring their levels in different stages are scarce. We aimed to evaluate the relationship of these autoantibodies with the clinical profile of chronic patients, especially ...

Brunken, Richard C., Joseph K. Perloff, Johannes Czernin, Roxana Campisi, Susan Purcell, Pamela D. Miner, John S. Child, and Heinrich R. Schelbert. Myocardial perfusion reserve in adults with cyanotic congenital heart disease. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 289: H1798–H1806, 2005. First published July 8, 2005; doi:10.1152/ajpheart.01309.2004.—In patients with cyanotic congenital heart disease ...

In patients with cyanotic congenital heart disease (CCHD), a right-to-left shunt results in systemic hypoxemia. Systemic hypoxemia incites a compensatory erythrocytosis, which increases whole blood viscosity. We considered that these changes might adversely influence myocardial perfusion in CCHD patients. Basal and hyperemic (intravenous dipyridamole) perfusion measurements were obtained with [...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Consensus guidelines have recommended newborn pulse oximetry screening for critical congenital heart disease (CCHD). Given that newborn oxygen saturations are generally lower at higher altitudes, the American Academy of Pediatrics and others recommend additional evaluation of the screening algorithm at altitude. Our objective was to evaluate the feasibility of newborn p...

Prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) is the drug of choice for providing ductal patency in cyanotic congenital heart disease (CCHD) for a short period of time until essential surgical management. Occasionally, prolonged use of PGE1 is required when the surgical procedure is delayed due to certain clinical conditions. Prolonged use of PGE1 may lead to bone and tissue changes such as pretibial and soft tissue...

Newborn screening is a public health program that benefits 4 million U.S. infants every year by enabling early detection of serious conditions, thus affording the opportunity for timely intervention to optimize outcomes (1). States and other U.S. jurisdictions decide whether and how to regulate newborn screening practices. Most newborn screening is done through laboratory analyses of dried bloo...

Congenital Chagas disease (CChD) has been reported in different countries, mostly in Latin America. In 1987 a fatal case of CChD of second generation (CChDSG) was published. Within a period of six months--1989-1990--two cases of CChDSG were diagnosed and studied in the city of Santiago. Two premature newborns, sons of two sisters, with moderate liver and spleen enlargement, were found to have p...

Cyanotic congenital heart defects (CCHD) with severe pulmonary stenosis or atresia exhibit hypoxemia and cyanosis secondary to pulmonary oligemia and right-to-left shunt. Even though a substantial proportion of these patients can be surgically corrected at presentation, such correction is not feasible in some patients either because of the age and size of the patient at presentation or because ...