 In the chronic stage , treatment involves managing the clinical manifestations of the disease . For example , pacemakers and medications for irregular heartbeats , such as the anti @-@ arrhythmia drug amiodarone , may be life saving for some patients with chronic cardiac disease , while surgery may be required for megaintestine . The disease cannot be cured in this phase , however . Chronic heart disease caused by Chagas disease is now a common reason for heart transplantation surgery . Until recently , however , Chagas disease was considered a contraindication for the procedure , since the heart damage could recur as the parasite was expected to seize the opportunity provided by the immunosuppression that follows surgery . 
