Lifestyle and level of physical activity in individuals with chagasic myocardiopathy

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Chagas disease (CD) is a parasitic infection caused by the flagellated protozoan Tripanosoma cruzi. Estimates point to the existence of approximately five million infected individuals, mainly in Latin America, with Brazil dating between 1.9 and 4.6 million individuals under the same infectious aspect. The cardiac outcome is one of the most important aspects, with manifestations consistent with systolic or diastolic ventricular dysfunction, cardiac autonomic dysfunction and sudden death. OBJECTIVE: to correlate the lifestyle and physical activity level of individuals with Chagas cardiomyopathy (CM). MATERIAL AND METHODS: A cross-sectional analytical study was carried out in a reference outpatient clinic for cardiomyopathies, with state coverage. A form was created by the authors, which included, in addition to the clinical variables and demographic, variables related to the analysis of the participants' lifestyle and physical activity, this being applied in the waiting room, while the subjects waited for medical care. RESULTS: Seventy-four individuals with CM were selected. The mean age of the sample was 61.2 ± 8.5 years, with 50 (68.0%) individuals being female. Regarding the level of physical activity, there was a predominance of the “not active” category, corresponding to 60 individuals (71.0%). The lifestyle was classified as “very good” for 41 (55.0%) participants and “good” for 22 (30.0%) participants, with no individuals allocated to the “need to improve” category of the questionnaire. CONCLUSION: The results obtained allow us to conclude that, in general, the lifestyle and the level of physical activity of individuals with CM were characterized as "good" / "very good" and not active, respectively.