Influence of ACE Polymorphism on Echocardiographic Data of Patients with Heart Failure

Background: Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) polymorphism has been associated with different clinical and echocardiographic parameters in patients with heart failure (HF). However, no studies have been investigated such association with HF caused by Chagas disease. Objectives: To perform a genetic study to evaluate the frequency of ACE polymorphism in patients with HF caused by Chagas disease attending a university hospital in the central-west region and its association with echocardiographic findings. Methods: Descriptive study of ACE polymorphism (I/D) and echocardiographic data of 103 patients with HF caused by Chagas disease. Echocardiographic parameters were compared between the genotypes using the ANOVA test. Results: Genotypic distribution of the ACE polymorphism was 16.5% DD, 57.3% DI and 26.2% II. There was no statistically significant difference in the distribution of genotypes between men and women. The echocardiographic findings were: left ventricular ejection fraction: 43.8 ± 14.8 (DD) vs. 42.3 ± 11.6 (ID) vs. 44.9 ± 13.0 (II), p = 0.664; left ventricular diastolic diameter: 59.2 ± 9.7 (DD) vs. 60.3 ± 7.6 (ID) vs. 59.7 ± 78.1 (II), p = 0.879; left ventricular systolic diameter: 48.6 ± 12.8 (DD) vs. 50.6 ± 9.7 (ID) vs. 49.3 ± 11.9 (II), p = 0.753; and left atrial volume: 44.9 ± 10.1 (DD) vs. 40.9 ± 9.6 (ID) vs. 38.2 ± 7.8 (II), p = 0.068. Significant correlation coefficients were found for gender, age, ethnicity, heart rate and dyslipidemia. Conclusion: ACE polymorphism was not associated with echocardiographic findings in patients with HF caused by Chagas disease.