Surgical Management of Parasitic Diseases Involving the Heart

The heart and pericardium may be affected directly or indirectly by a variety of parasites. These can be grouped into parasites that preferentially involve the myocardium and occasionally involve the pericardium (such as Trypanosomes, Toxoplasma, Trichinella), parasites that occasionally involve the pericardium or cause pancarditis (such as Echinococcus, Entamoeba histolytica, Taenia solium) and parasites that cause miscellaneous syndromes (such as Schistosoma, Dirofilaria immitis, Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi, helminth, Toxocara canis and Toxocara cati, Baylisascaris procyonis, Sarcocystis). The involvement of the heart and its structures to parasitic diseases may manifest in different ways; however, the syndromes resulting from impairment of the myocardium and pericardium are the most frequent, such as myocarditis or cardiomyopathy and pericarditis or pericardial effusion. This chapter summarizes the relevant clinical picture, the diagnostic procedures and the therapeutic protocols involving both conservative treatment and surgical management of the parasitic diseases of the heart.