Luis E. Echeverría, Lyda Z. Rojas, Angie Yarlady Serrano‐García, Yina T. Ariza, Carlos Luengas, Rachel Marcus, Carlos A. Morillo, Sergio A. Gómez‐Ochoa
ABSTRACT Background Chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy (CCC) exhibits high arrhythmic risk despite preserved systolic function, challenging LVEF‐based stratification. Methods We performed a cross‐sectional analysis of 146 heart failure patients (75 CCC, 71 Ischemic Cardiomyopathy [IC]) with comparable age, LVEF, and NT‐proBNP. Results CCC patients had a higher arrhythmic burden and NSVT prevalence (RR 4.37, 95% CI 1.67–11.39). NSVT prevalence in CCC was similar regardless of LVEF ( p = 0.707). Conventional heart failure severity markers, including worse global and regional strain, were associated with NSVT in IC but not in CCC, where atrial fibrillation ( p = 0.002) and ventricular aneurysms ( p = 0.033) were the primary associated variables. Conclusions Arrhythmic vulnerability in CCC appears decoupled from LVEF, suggesting that complementary substrate‐based markers may improve risk stratification in this population.