Aim:

Arrhythmogenic right ventricle dysplasia and cardiomyopathy (ARVD/C) occurs due to fibrofatty tissue infiltration in the ventricle myocardium.. Although the etiology has not been completely understood, it is responsible for the sudden death in early adolescents and athletics. We aimed to demonstrate the accuracy of ARVD/C findings in clinically confirmed ARVD/C cases by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Materials and Methods:

Cardiac MRI findings of clinically diagnosed 23 ARVD/C patients (18 male, 5 female; mean age: 38.2; SD: ± 13) were evaluated retrospectively. In four chamber cine images at both end-diastolic and end-systolic phases of cardiac cycle, the endocardial diameters of both atria and ventricles were measured.

Results:

Findings were found as following: Right ventricular dilation in end-diastolic phase (>42 mm: 78.2%), right atrial dilation (> 41 mm: 78.2%), myocardial fatty replacement (74%) and left ventricular dilation (>42 mm: 74%), ventricle wall motion disorders on Cine MRI (43.5%), decrease in myocardial contractions (30.4%), postcontrast enhancement due to fibrosis (21.7%), right ventricle outflow tract dilation (21.7%), trabeculation (17.4%). Tricuspid insufficiency was 4.3% and Ebstain’s anomaly was found as 4.3%.

Conclusion:

MRI is useful for the diagnosis of ARVD/C. In the current study, the most frequent MRI findings were right ventricular and atrial dilation, myocardial fatty infiltration and left ventricular dilation respectively. The presence of fibrosis is significant for the diagnosis of ARVD/C. The left ventricle involvement is rare and may occur in ARVD/C.

Keywords: Arrhythmogenic right ventricle dysplasia, Myocardium, Magnetic resonance imaging