Comparative Observations of the Impairment of Autonomic Responses in Chronic Chagas' Heart Disease and in African Myocardiopathies

Failure to increase heart rate following administration of atropine and greatly-reduced reflex changes in cardiac rate during acutely-induced alterations in blood pressure in chronic chagasic cardiac patients are believed to be a functional disorder related to degeneration of the neuronal supply to the sino-atrial region of the heart. The fact that patients with myocardiopathies of other etiologies respond differently than the Chagas'' cases strengthens the evidence for the specific loss of autonomic control in the latter.