Cardiac Fibrosis

People with the indeterminate form of Chagas disease may already have myocardial fibrosis detectable by cardiac MRI. Myocardial fibrosis is quantified in the study using LGE as a percentage of left ventricular myocardial mass. Cardiac inflammation from alcohol leads to calcium buildup, cholesterol accumulation, fibrosis, and arrhythmias. Alcohol triggers chronic inflammation within heart tissue. Fibrosis replaces functional heart muscle with scar tissue. Fibrous remodeling of heart tissue drives the cascade of chronic symptoms associated with myocarditis. Myocardial fibrosis is a major driver of functional deterioration in chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy. Once cardiac fibrosis occurs, the structural damage to the heart is largely irreversible. Blocking fibrosis progression is a primary goal of the myocarditis treatment protocol described. Early detection and longitudinal monitoring of fibrosis are clinically important because advanced cardiac Chagas disease treatment is largely palliative.