Focus Issue: Cardiac Imaging
Clinical Research: Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy
Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance in Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy Revisited: Comparison With Task Force Criteria and Genotype

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2006.07.045Get rights and content
Under an Elsevier user license
open archive

Objectives

We sought to assess the utility of cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) in the evaluation of arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) in relation to diagnostic criteria and genotype.

Background

Timely diagnosis of ARVC is difficult as clinical findings may be subtle and nonspecific in early disease. The role of CMR is controversial owing to the absence of a standardized protocol, insufficient experience with the modality, and inherent difficulties in imaging the right ventricle.

Methods

Comprehensive CMR examination was performed in 232 patients undergoing evaluation for suspected ARVC. CMR outcomes were compared with: 1) prospective clinical diagnosis using Task Force guidelines, with and without the proposed modifications for familial ARVC; and 2) gene-carrier status in 35 individuals from genotyped families.

Results

CMR studies were positive in all 64 patients who prospectively fulfilled Task Force criteria, resulting in 100% sensitivity. Specificity in relation to Task Force criteria was low (29%). Of the 119 apparent false positives detected by CMR, however, 63 fulfilled modified diagnostic criteria for familial ARVC and 7 were obligate gene carriers, suggesting that CMR frequently identifies individuals with early disease, in whom Task Force criteria are relatively insensitive. This was borne out by evaluation of genotyped individuals (26 gene-positive and 9 gene-negative), in whom CMR had a sensitivity of 96% and a specificity of 78%.

Conclusions

CMR is a valuable component of the diagnostic workup for ARVC when performed with a dedicated protocol by specialists with experience in analysis of volumes, right ventricular wall motion, and delayed-enhancement imaging.

Abbreviations and Acronyms

ARVC
arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy
CMR
cardiovascular magnetic resonance
ECG
electrocardiogram
LE
late enhancement
LV
left ventricle/left ventricular
ROC
receiver-operating characteristic
RV
right ventricle/right ventricular
RWMA
regional wall motion abnormalities
SCD
sudden cardiac death
TF
Task Force

Cited by (0)

Supported by the British Heart Foundation (Drs. Sen-Chowdhry, Syrris, Ward, and McKenna), the European Commission 5th Framework Program (ARVC/D project, QLG1-CT-2000-01091), and CORDA (Drs. Prasad and Pennell).