A new test for arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy

摘要

The diagnosis and management of arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) can be problematic-the disease has a highly variable clinical presentation, and cardiac arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death occur frequently. Currently, the diagnosis is usually made clinically using criteria that have been defined by an international task force-while these are specific, they are not very sensitive. Furthermore, the structural changes in ARVC generally spare the subendocardium and do not tend to involve the interventricular septum, and therefore the pathological features of ARVC may not be identified on conventional endomyocardial biopsy. Additionally, the pathological features are more pronounced in patients with severe disease, but may not be seen in patients with early disease.