Incidence of Ventricular Arrhythmias after Stem Cell Therapy in Patients with Chagas Cardiomyopathy

BACKGROUND: Treatment with stem cells in several cardiomyopathies may be related to the increase in arrhythmias. OBJECTIVES: To determine whether intracoronary injection of stem cells in patients with Chagas cardiomyopathy is associated with increased incidence of ventricular arrhythmias, compared to the Control Group. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study that evaluated the medical records of 60 patients who participated in a previous cross-sectional study. The following data were collected: age, gender, drugs used and Holter variables that demonstrated the presence of arrhythmias. Holter was performed in four stages: randomization, 2, 6 and 12 months segments. The Control Group received medical treatment and intracoronary injection of placebo and the Study Group had drug treatment and autologous stem cell implant. RESULTS: There was no difference between Control Group and Study Group when analyzing the arrhythmia criteria. In the intra-group analysis, significant difference was found between the Holter tests of the Study Group for the variable total ventricular premature beats when compared with baseline, with p = 0.014 between Holter at randomization and Holter at 2 months, p = 0.004 between Holter at randomization and Holter at 6 months, and p = 0.014 between Holter at randomization and Holter at 12 months. The variable non-sustained ventricular tachycardia between Holter at randomization and Holter at 6 months showed p = 0.036. CONCLUSION: The intracoronary injection of stem cells did not increase the incidence of ventricular arrhythmias in patients with Chagas cardiomyopathy compared to the Control Group.