**2. The disease**

Epidemiological data from World Health Organization point to 21 Latin American countries endemic of Chagas disease, estimated 6 to 7 million infected people, and 75 million under risk of infection worldwide. This illness possesses two clinical phases: acute and chronic. Patent parasitemia and intense tissue inflammation are the characteristics of acute phase, usually oligosymptomatic [4]. After few months, chronic phase starts in an indeterminate form without any clinical signs or symptoms. Almost 70% of infected individuals will not progress to the symptomatic chronic stage, remaining in this phase for the rest of their lives. The most frequent clinical manifestation observed in chronic phase is cardiac dysfunction, more severe when compared to the other cardiomyopathies, the main cause of mortality in chronic patients. Heart complications are directly associated with the high socioeconomic impact, generating expenditure in the range of billions of dollars annually, as well as the loss of productivity of affected individuals. To avoid mortality and excessive financial expense, more studies about biomarkers for early prognosis should be incited. More groups should develop applicable research focused in this area [5].
