| MeSH |
|
| Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia/diagnosis |
Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia/therapy |
| Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia/complications |
Heart Ventricle/pathology |
| Magnetic Resonance Imaging |
Syncope/etiology |
| Death, Sudden, Cardiac/etiology |
Tachycardia, Ventricular/etiology |
Abstract
Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is a heart muscle
disease that is often familial, characterized by arrhythmias of right ventricular
origin, due to transmural fatty or fibrofatty replacement of atrophic myocardium.
ARVC is usually diagnosed in the clinical setting between 20 and 40 years
of age. The disease is seldom recognised in infancy or under the age of
10, probably because the clinical expression of the disease is normally
postponed to youth and adulthood. This review focuses its attention to
the pediatric age, defined as the period of life raging from birth to 18
years. During this span of life, ARVC is not so rare as previously supposed
and can be identified by applying the same diagnostic criteria proposed
for the adult. Ventricular arrhythmias range from isolated ventricular
arrhythmias to sustained ventricular tachycardia and fibrillation. Children
and adolescents with ARVC must be carefully evaluated and followed-up especially
when a family positive history is present, taking into account the high
probability during this life-period that asymptomatic affected patients
become symptomatic or that arrhythmias worsen during follow-up. The recent
identification of the first defective gene opens new avenues for the early
identification of affected subjects even when asymptomatic.
Article
Introduction
Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is a heart muscle
disease of unknown etiology, often familial, characterized by arrhythmias
of RV origin, due to transmural fatty or fibrofatty replacement of atrophic
myocardium (Fig1).1-4 In 1978 Frank et al5 described
four patients with sustained ventricular tachycardia (VT) and diskinetic
areas of the RV and the authors called this entity arrhythmogenic RV dysplasia,
because they considered it as a result of a 'maldevelopment' of the RV
myocardium.
Figure 1: A 17 year old asymptomatic soccer player who died
suddenly on effort
1a) 12-lead ECG at preparticipation screening for competitive
sport activity: note typical inverted T-waves in the right precordial leads
up to V4
1b) Cross section of the heart specimen showing diffuse involvement
of the RV free wall with anterior and subtricuspid aneurysms
1c) Histology of the posterior aneurysm shows a transmural fibrofatty
replacement of the atrophic myocardium accounting for a thin wall (Heidenhain
Trichrome x4)
Marcus et al6 first reported in 1982 the clinical profile
of this disease; the typical patient described was a middle-aged male who
presented with palpitations, tachycardia or syncope. Physical examination
was normal, whereas the ECG showed incomplete or complete right bundle
branch block and T wave inversion over V1 to V4. The clinical picture was
characterised by sustained VT with left bundle branch block (LBBB) morphology
and an enlarged RV with segmental wall motion abnormalities, particularly
in the infundibulum. In the late 1980’s Thiene et al discovered through
autopsy studies that ARVC was a major cause of sudden death in the young1
and in competitive athletes.7 Subsequent clinical and histologic
studies demonstrated that this disease was not congenital, namely a structural
cardiac defect present at birth, but acquired and progressive in time,
most often genetically determined.2 Thus ARVC has been recently
added to dilated, hypertrophic and restrictive cardiomyopathies as a fourth
heart muscle disease within the new classification of cardiomyopathies.8
A Task Force of the European Society of Cardiology has proposed the
criteria for the clinical diagnosis of ARVC.9 Table 1 shows
the major and minor criteria, based on the identification of structural
abnormalities, fatty or fibrofatty replacement of RV myocardium, electrocardiographic
changes, arrhythmias of RV origin, and familial disease. The diagnosis
is fulfilled in the presence of two major criteria or one major plus two
minor criteria or four minor from different groups. The sensitivity and
specificity of these criteria are still unknown.
Table 1. Diagnostic criteria (from McKenna et al9)
|
I. Global and/or regional dysfunction and structural alterations
|
|
Major
-
Severe dilatation and reduction of RV ejection fraction with no (or only
mild) left ventricular impairment.
-
Localized RV aneurysms (localized or dyskinetic areas with diastolic bulging).
-
Severe segmental dilatation of the RV.
|
Minor
-
Mild global RV dilatation and/or ejection fraction reduction with normal
left ventricle.
-
Mild segmental dilatation of the RV.
-
Regional RV hypokinesia.
|
|
II. Tissue characteristics of walls
|
|
Major
-
Fibrofatty replacement of myocardium on endomyocardial biopsy.
|
|
|
III. ECG repolarization abnormalities
|
|
| |
Minor
-
Inverted T waves in right precordial leads (V2 and V3) in people aged more
than 12 years and in the absence of right bundle branch block.
|
|
IV. ECG depolarization/conduction abnormalities
|
|
Major
-
Epsilon waves or localized prolongation (>110 ms) of the QRS complex in
right precordial leads (V1-V3).
|
Minor
-
Late potentials seen on signal averaged electrocardiography.
|
|
V. Arrhythmias
|
|
|
|
Minor
-
Sustained or sustained LBBB type VT documented on the electrocardiography,
Holter monitoring or during exercise testing. Frequent ventricular extrasystoles
(more than 1,000/24 h on Holter monitoring).
|
|
VI. Familial history
|
|
Major
-
Familial disease confirmed at necroscopy or surgery.
|
Minor
-
Family history of premature SD (<35 years) due to suspected ARVC/D
-
Family history (clinical diagnosis based on present criteria).
|
LBBB=left bundle branch block, RV=right ventricle, SD=sudden
death
From the etiopathogenetic point of view, three basic mechanism have
been postulated to explain progressive loss of RV myocardium with fibro-fatty
replacement of the RV myocardium; i.e.
-
Apoptosis or programmed cell death
-
Injury and repair process in the setting of chronic myocarditis
-
Genetically determined atrophy. 2,10,11
First reports concerned sporadic cases of ARVC. In the paper by Marcus
et al6 only one patient had a familial history of ARVC. This
patient had been previously reported in 1974 by Waynberger et al12
who studied familial cases of VT with LBBB configuration. In the 1980s,
other authors demonstrated a familial occurrence of the disease.13-16
In 1988 Nava et al17 conducted the first large epidemiological
study on ARVC, by analyzing 72 members from 9 families, and advanced the
hypothesis that the disease is transmitted by autosomal dominance inheritance
with variable expression and penetrance. This genetic transmission was
further confirmed by studies on twins.18,19 Six ARVC loci have
been identified so far. Two loci have been mapped in close proximity of
chromosome 14, and the others on chromosome 1, 2, 3 and 10.20-26
An autosomal recessive variant of ARVC that is associated with palmoplantar
keratosis and woolly hair, (so-called 'Naxos disease') has been mapped
on chromosome 17, and a mutation of plakoglobin, a protein implicated in
cell to cell adhesion, has been found.26 More recently, we discovered
the first mutation of the gene of the ARVC variant mapping to chromosome
1q42-43, which encodes for a defective cardiac ryanodin receptor.27
Familiar occurrence has been demonstrated in 50% of patients with ARVC
by Nava et al.4,17
During its natural history, ARVC may manifest in the following clinical
phases: concealed period, overt electrical disorder, RV failure, biventricular
pump failure.4 The concealed phase is characterized by subtle
RV changes, with or without minor ventricular arrhythmias. The pathologic
process involves only one region of the so-called triangle of dysplasia:
the subtricuspidal region, the apex and the outflow tract. In this phase
patients are usually asymptomatic, present with or without non-complex
ventricular arrhythmias, and nevertheless are at risk of sudden death.
The overt clinical disorder is typical of symptomatic arrhythmic patients,
who show overt RV functional and structural abnormalities, in the setting
of an increased risk of sudden death. RV failure is caused by the progressive
extension of RV disease, determining a global dysfunction with a relatively
preserved left ventricular function. Biventricular pump failure is the
final stage of ARVC, provoked by pronounced left ventricular involvement
and often associated to atrial fibrillation and thromboembolic events.
ARVC in children and adolescents
ARVC is usually diagnosed in the clinical setting between 20 and 40
years of age.28 The disease has been less well studied in the
pediatric age group. The prevalence of children affected by ARVC in non-selected
clinical series usually comprises 5% to 30% of the series.6,29,30
ARVC may lead to sudden death even in pediatric age. In the study of Blomstrom-Lundqvist
et al29 on long term follow-up of 15 patients with ARVC, one
of the two patients who died suddenly was a child. Daliento et al31
reported two cases of sudden death in their series of 17 children with
ARVC, followed for more than 7 years. Also in autoptic series the prevalence
of children and adolescent is not trivial. In the original paper of Thiene
at al1 on sudden death due to ARVC, children and adolescents
comprised 50% of cases and sudden death was often the first sign of the
disease. The youngest autoptic patient who died suddenly was described
by Pawel et al32 in 1994. This patient was a 7-year-old boy
of Italian descent, who also had histological involvement of the left ventricle.
ARVC in infants
Sporadic cases have been observed early in life, even in the embryological
phase. Fontaine et al33 described a 27-week old fetus with RV
aneurysm and arrhythmias observed in utero. Histology of his heart showed
evidence of adipocytes interspersed with myocardial fibers. Neither fibrosis
nor signs of inflammation were observed.
When dealing with right heart failure and death that occurs in few
weeks or months old infants, ARVC must be differentiated from Uhl’s disease
(Table 2). The latter was described in 1952 by Uhl,34 who reported
a case in which the wall of the RV was paper thin with “almost total absence
of the myocardium of the right ventricle”. Although James et al35
suggested that Uhl’s anomaly and ARVC share similar pathogenesis, Uhl’s
anomaly generally leads to congestive heart failure at an early age and
death after few weeks or months without arrhythmias.36,37 The
definitive differential diagnosis can be made only by autopsy.
Table 2: Uhl's anomaly vs ARVC
|
|
Uhl’s Anomaly
|
ARVC
|
|
Age at presentation
|
Infant, children
|
Adolescent, young adult
|
|
Gender (M/F)
|
1:1
|
3: 1
|
|
Family history
|
Rare
|
Frequent
|
|
Clinical presentation
|
Congestive heart failure
|
Ventricular arrhythmias, syncope, SD
|
|
Exercise induced death
|
No
|
Frequent
|
|
Pathology
|
-
Dilated RV cavity
-
Thin RV wall
-
Absence of myocardium
-
No LV involvement
-
No inflammation
|
-
Normal or dilated RV cavity
-
Thin or normal thickness RV wall
-
Fatty or fibrofatty replacement
-
Up to 50% LV involvement
-
Up to 70% inflammation
|
SD=sudden death
The only ARVC infant presenting with heart failure was reported by Pinamonti
et al,38 who studied a 5 month female, in whom unfortunately,
autopsy was not performed.
In older cases, clinical presentation of ARVC is more typical. Chest
x-ray is normal, ECG shows negative T wave up to V4, and invasive and non
invasive imaging techniques demonstrate RV abnormalities. Antiarrhythmic
treatment seems to protect from sudden death. Makanda et al39
reported a case of 16-month-old child admitted to hospital due to the occurrence
of sustained VT that was pharmacologically cardioverted. Physical examination
and chest X-ray were normal. An incomplete right bundle branch block was
present at ECG. Two akinetic wall motion abnormalities were found at right
angiogram. On follow-up this patient did well with antiarrhythmic therapy.
Minor left ventricular abnormalities may also be associated with ARVC at
a very young age. An 18-month-old female was described by Pinamonti et
al,38 presenting with polymorphic non-sustained VT and negative
T wave from V1 to V4 at ECG, and who did well in beta-blockers therapy.
Sometimes the disease is not recognized at first assessment, especially
in the absence of arrhythmias. Matsuoka et al40 described a
4 year old boy evaluated prior to an operation for cerebral abscess, who
at the age of 10 days had undergone a first hemodynamic study due to cyanosis
during crying, that was considered at first normal. Chest X-ray showed
an enlarged heart size; the ECG had a marked superior axis deviation of
QRS and negative T wave up to V3. Invasive investigations demonstrated
findings suggestive of ARVC, such as multiple diverticular outpouchings
of RV wall, dilatation together with a reduction of ejection fraction of
both ventricles. Ventricular arrhythmias had never been detected. Without
antiarrhythmic protection, this patient died suddenly soon after the invasive
examinations, but autopsy was not performed.
In general, the disease is seldom diagnosed below the age of 10 years,
probably because the clinical expression of the disease is normally postponed
to youth and adulthood.28
ARVC in children and adolescents (up to 18 years)
The distinctive phases of ARVC, i.e. concealed phase, overt electrical
disorder, RV failure, biventricular pump failure can be well recognized
in this span of life.
During the concealed phase, premature ventricular beats with LBBB pattern
can be the only clinical manifestation of ARVC, also in asymptomatic children.
Patterson et al41 reported a five-year-old girl with frequent
ventricular extrasystoles, who had small apical saccular diverticulae at
echocardiogram. Tomisawa et al42 studied two children, 5 and
12 years old respectively, admitted to hospital because of frequent extrasystoles
with LBBB morphology. The ECG demonstrated notched T wave in V2 and V3
in the former and inverted T wave in V1-V4 in the latter. At angiography
an aneurysm of RV outflow tract was found in both. Aneurysmectomy led to
abolition of the premature ventricular complexes in the patient with the
larger aneurysm. The other was successfully treated with beta-blockers.
In the series of Nava et al30 of patients with concealed form
of ARVC, four individuals were children (range 4 to 16 years). In this
subgroup of patients, ventricular arrhythmias ranged from isolated ventricular
beats (2 patients) to sustained VT (1 patient) or ventricular fibrillation
(1 patient). All the patients showed a normal physical tolerance, a normal
cardiac silhouette at X-ray (Fig. 2), negative precordial T wave in 75
% of cases, localized abnormalities of RV and fibro (3 cases) or fibro-fatty
(1 case) replacement at endomyocardial biopsy. They all did well on antiarrhythmic
drug therapy.
|
Figure 2: An 8-year-old boy with premature ventricular complex
- posteroanterior chest x-ray shows a normal sized cardiac silhouette (modified
from Nava et al30)
|
|
Symptomatic children with overt clinical ARVC, ie RV structural abnormalities
associated with ventricular arrhythmias, possibly leading to sudden death,
are not as rare as previously reported. For many years ventricular fibrillation
has been considered idiopathic when no recognizable major left-heart disease
or coronary pathologic condition were present. In this setting RV was underestimated
or ignored. Martini et al43 described six patients resuscitated
from ventricular fibrillation and among the five patients with morphofunctional
abnormalities of RV and typical ECG, two were children and showed minor
left ventricular wall motion abnormalities.
Sustained VT with LBBB morphology was a common form of presentation
in ARVC children in the 1980s. Dungan et al44 described three
children presenting with VT at a very young age. Chest x-rays were normal,
whereas RV was characterized by typical wall motion abnormalities at angiography.
Sustained VT occurred spontaneously or during stress testing. All three
patients remained asymptomatic with antiarrhythmic drug therapy during
long-term follow-up. In the study of Reiter et al45 on clinical
spectrum of VT with LBBB, seven patients had ARVC. Two patients were children
and showed negative T wave on right precordial leads and typical RV abnormalities.
VT was inducible in both patients. The younger, treated with quinidine
died suddenly 19 months after evaluation. Of note, he presented a mild
reduction of left ventricular ejection fraction, which probably could have
represented a proarrhythmogenic factor.
Refractory VT has been sometimes treated with surgical procedure, especially
in the 1980s. RV disconnection had been introduced for the treatment of
drug refractory cases.46 This technique, that can be partial
or total, is a surgical procedure that electrically isolates the arrhythmogenic
RV from the rest of the heart. Despite the acceptable long-term results,
this procedure has been seldom employed in adolescents because of hemodynamic
alterations. Mc Lay et al47 described a 14 year old white girl
who underwent RV total disconnection with good results during the subsequent
follow-up. A surgical approach consisting of myocardial excision and cryocoagulation
has been also used with contrasting results in the children. A 15-year-old
boy died suddenly 5 months after the operation48 while another
14-year-old did well on follow-up after discharge.49
Global RV failure, although rare, may also appear in the pediatric
age group. Kearney et al50 described an 11-year-old girl who
was transplanted because of right heart failure with peripheral edema and
hepatomegaly. Biventricular failure has also been reported in children.
Smith et al51 studied the hearts of two sisters, aged 17 and
14, with no history of heart disease. The elder sister died suddenly, while
the younger sister developed congestive heart failure and underwent cardiac
transplantation.
Diagnostic criteria and follow-up
A clinical study on ARVC pediatric patients was conducted by Daliento
et al in 1995.31 They examined 17 patients (Table 3) with a
mean age at onset of symptoms of 12 years and a mean age at diagnosis of
15 years. As far as the presence of major and minor diagnostic criteria,
family occurrence of ARVC was 41%. The symptoms were varied, with palpitations
and syncope being the most frequent (58% and 23% respectively). Syncope
was frequently related to sustained ventricular arrhythmias.
Table 3: Main findings in 17 children and adolescents with ARVC
(modified from Daliento et al54)
|
Family history
|
SD
ARVC
|
23%
17%
|
|
Sex
|
Male
|
70%
|
|
First symptoms
(mean age 123 y)
|
Palpitations
Syncope
Angina-like chest pain
Lipothymia
|
59%
23%
12%
6%
|
|
ECG
|
Right intraventricular delay
Complete right bundle branch block
Negative T wave over T2
|
59%
12%
53%
|
|
Signal averaged ECG
|
Positive late potentials
|
60%
|
|
Initial arrhythmias
|
Ventricular couplets
PVC
NSVT
Ventricular fibrillation
SVT
Atrial fibrillation
|
47%
23%
12%
6%
6%
6%
|
|
Electrophysiologic study
|
SVT
NSVT
IARV
|
28%
21%
7%
|
|
RV and LV imaging (angiography and echocardography)
|
Localized RV aneurysm
Regional hypokinesia of RV
Abnormal trabeculae of RV
Severe dilatation and RVEF decrease
Mild LV involvement
|
100%
93%
86%
46%
30%
|
|
Endomyocardial biopsy
|
Fibrous tissue replacement
Fibro-fatty tissue replacement
Inflammatory infiltrates
|
83%
17%
17%
|
|
Follow-up
(mean duration 10 years)
|
SD
(no antiarrhythmic drugs)
Aborted SD
(no relapse with therapy)
|
12%
12%
|
Abbreviations used in table
|
ARVC=arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy
|
IARV= accelerated idioventricular rhythm
|
|
SVT= sustained ventricular tachycardia
|
NSVT= nonsustained ventricular tachycardia
|
|
PVC= premature ventricular complex
|
SD=sudden death
|
|
LV=left ventricle
|
RV=right ventricle
|
|
RVEF=right ventricular ejection fraction
|
|
Negative T waves beyond V2 were present in half of the patients. Although
localized prolongation of the QRS complex in right precordial leads was
uncommon, two patients showed complete right bundle branch block. The incidence
of epsilon wave that is conventionally defined as a distinct wave of small
amplitude that occupies the QT segment in the right precordial leads, was
not reported in that series. In pediatric age the frequency of epsilon
wave is unknown, in contrast with an incidence of about 25-30% of adults
(Fig. 3). Whether epsilon wave is uncommon in children or is simply underdiagnosed
is uncertain. Late potentials were found in more than half of the patients
at 40 Hz filter (Fig. 4).
|
Figure 3: A 48-year old man with a severe form of ARVC. Epsilon
wave (arrow) simulates atrial tachycardia in leads I, II, III, aVR, V1
and V4. The epsilon wave is different from P axis. Right atrial enlargement,
increased PR segment, low voltage of QRS, negative T-wave from V1-V6 are
also present (modified from Nava et al4)
|
|
|
Figure 4: Presence of late potentials at 40 Hz filter in a 16
year-old child with non-sustained ventricular tachycardia
|
|
Initial spontaneous arrhythmias recorded on surface ECG or Holter were
prevalently minor. During follow-up arrhythmic picture was mainly characterized
by sustained and nonsustained VT (Fig. 5).
Figure 5: A 18-year-old boy with a concealed form of ARVC complained
of palpitations. A monomorphic ventricular tachycardia with LBBB morphology
was recorded. Echocardiogram showed only a diaphragmatic wall bulging and
slight dilatation of RV outflow tract (modified from Nava et al4)
Localized subtricuspidal and/or anterior RV aneurysm was demonstrated
in all by imaging techniques, together with a high incidence of regional
apical and/or diaphragmatic hypokinesia as well as an abnormal trabecular
pattern (Fig. 6-8). Severe dilatation and reduction of RV ejection fraction
was found in nearly half of the patients. Mild left ventricular impairment
was present in one third of the patients.
|
Figure 6: Angiography of the RV (left anterior oblique view)
shows anterior bulging of infundibulum (arrow) in a 16 years old child
with non-sustained VT (RV=right ventricle)
|
|
|
Figure 7: Angiography of the RV (lateral view) shows subtricuspidal
bulging (arrow) in a 17 years old child with sustained VT (RV=right ventricle)
|
|
|
Figure 8: Apical four chamber echocardiogram showing RV dyskinesia
of the apex (arrows) in a 13 year-old girl (LV=left ventricle, RA=right
atrium, RV=right ventricle)
|
|
At endomyocardial biopsy, fibrous replacement (Fig. 9) was prevalent
compared to fibro-fatty substitution. Inflammatory lymphocyte infiltrates
and necrosis were rare and not associated to a peculiar histologic variant.
|
Figure 9: A 21 year old man with a family history of ARVC and
spontaneous sustained VT with LBBB morphology. Endomyocardial biopsy, performed
at 18 years of age, shows extensive replacement of the myocardium by fibrosis
(Azan-Mallory stain, original magnification x45) (modified from Menghetti
et al52)
|
|
Magnetic resonance imaging was not performed in this study and its
specificity is still unknown52 (Fig. 10). During a mean follow-up
of seven years, two patients died suddenly, without antiarrhythmic drug
protection. The two patients with aborted sudden death as first symptom
had no relapses of sustained ventricular arrhythmias on beta-blockers and
disopyramide plus beta-blockers, respectively. Sustained VT occurred in
three patients; two patients had no recurrences of VT on disopyramide plus
beta-blockers and sotalol, respectively. In the third subject, the combination
of amiodarone plus beta-blocker therapy significantly reduced the number
of attacks of VT. The other 10 patients, treated empirically with beta-blockers
and/or class I and III antiarrhythmic drugs had no episode of sustained
VT during the follow-up.
|
Figure 10: Same patient of figure 9. Short axis nuclear magnetic
resonance shows a diffuse bright signal from the RV wall, suggestive for
extensive myocardial fatty replacement (modified from Menghetti et al52)
|
|
Daliento et al31 demonstrated that the diagnostic criteria
were valid also for the children and adolescents and that the risk of sudden
death or ventricular fibrillation was higher in this span of life, especially
when not protected by antiarrhythmic drug therapy. In this series, the
pediatric patients were managed medically. Nowadays, an implantable defibrillator
is the treatment of choice in patients resuscitated from cardiac arrest
or judged to be at high risk of sudden death.53,54 Catheter
ablation can sometime treat effectively ventricular tachyarrhythmias in
selected patients. However the long-term efficacy of catheter ablation
is controversial. This technique has a high acute success rate (60-90%),
but VT recurrences are common and may lead to sudden arrhythmic death.
Peculiar aspects
ARVC in twins
The relationships between genetic and environmental factors have studied
using twins. Identical twins may show different clinical course and prognosis17
or the same clinical findings and follow-up.18 Environmental
factors such as history of myocarditis or exposure to toxin could play
a role in the clinical manifestation of the disease, also in the setting
of an identical genetic inheritance.
Myocarditis
An association between ARVC and an acute myocardial inflammation has
been reported also in children. Whether myocarditis is a primary event
or a complication of ARVC remains unclear. In some children the first manifestation
of the disease is characterized by chest pain, ST segment elevation at
ECG and an increase of in myocardial enzymes, in the setting of normal
coronary arteries and typical morphofunctional abnormalities of the RV,
together with inflammatory cells at endomyocardial biopsy. The onset of
ventricular electrical instability may emerge in the setting of an inflammatory
disorder as reported by Blomstrom-Lundqvist,29 or may be delayed.
An interval of six years after an acute myocardial inflammation has been
reported in a 15 year-old boy with ARVC by Daliento et al55
(Fig.11). Myocarditis may be a precipitating factor in ARVC. Sabel et al
56 described a 14-year-old boy with ARVC, who had a myocarditis,
and died suddenly after a follow-up of 1.5 years, during mild exercise,
although non-invasive tests were indicative of a low arrhythmic risk.
|
Figure 11: A 15-year-old boy who was admitted to the hospital
for chest pain. Persistent ST segment elevation was present at ECG together
with an increase in myocardial enzymes. Angiography revealed normal coronary
arteries and morphofunctional abnormalities of the RV. He was resuscitated
from ventricular fibrillation six years after investigation
|
|
In conclusion, ARVC is not as rare as previously thought in the pediatric
population. It can be identified by applying the same diagnostic criteria
that have been proposed for adults. The paediatric subgroup must be carefully
evaluated and followed-up especially when a family positive history is
present, taking into account the high probability that during this life-span,
asymptomatic affected patients become symptomatic or that arrhythmias worsen
during the follow-up. The recent identification of the first defective
gene opens new avenues for the early identification of affected subjects
even when asymptomatic.
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Acknowledgments
Supported by MURST and Telethon, Rome and Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio,
Padova, Italy