An atypical case report of an arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy in a 70-years-old patient with suggestive left ventricular signs

Abstract

Arrhythmogenic dysplasia of the right ventricule (ARVC), actually known as arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM) is a rare genetic condition caused by the replacement of the normal right ventricular myocardium with fibrofatty tissue. However, 2 other phenotypes affecting the left ventricle were recently discovered. The disease usually appears in patients ranging from 30 to 50 years old; in fact, about 80% of cases occur in young patients <40 years of age. Therefore, it is usually considered in young adults or athletes presenting with a history of syncope, ventricular arrhythmias (VA), and/or sudden cardiac death (SCD). We report an atypical case of a 70-year-old male who was admitted to the hospital for spontaneous ventricular tachycardia (VT) that was reduced by an immediate electric shock, and the paraclinical investigations strongly supported the presence of an almost complete form of the disease with electric signs in favor of possible left ventricular (LV) damage, which makes the case even more interesting.