Introduction:
Atrial fibrillation/flutter (Afib/Aflu) in general, and clinical variables predicting Afib/Aflu in particular, are not well defined in patients with arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia (ARVD).
Hypothesis:
We hypothesized that transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) and ECG could be helpful to predict Afib/Aflu in these patients.
Methods and Results:
12-lead ECGs and TTEs of 90 patients from three tertiary-care centers diagnosed with definite or borderline ARVD according to the 2010 Task Force Criteria were analyzed. Data were compared in two patient groups: (1) patients with Afib/Aflu and (2) all other patients. Eighteen (20%) patients experienced Afib/Aflu during a follow-up period of 5.8 years (interquartile range 2.0-10.4 years). Kaplan-Meier analysis (Figure) revealed reduced times to Afib/Aflu among patients with echocardiographic RV fractional area change <27% (p<0.001), left atrial diameter ≥24.4 mm/m2 (p=0.001), and right atrial short axis diameter ≥22.1 mm/m2 (p=0.05). From all ECG variables, P sinistroatriale conferred the highest hazard ratio (3.37, 95% CI 0.92-12.36, p=0.067). Five patients with Afib/Aflu experienced inappropriate ICD shocks compared to four patients without Afib/Aflu (36% vs. 9%, p=0.03). Presence of Afib/Aflu was more prevalent in heart transplanted patients and in those who succumbed to cardiac death compared to the remaining patients (56% vs. 16%, p=0.014).
Conclusions:
Afib/Aflu are associated with inappropriate ICD shocks, heart transplantation, and cardiac death in patients with ARVD. Echocardiographic evidence of reduced RV function and atrial dilation helps to identify those ARVD patients being at increased risk for Afib/Aflu, which may help to guide individual patient management.
Performance of the 2015 International Task Force Consensus Statement Risk Stratification Algorithm for Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator Placement in Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia/Cardiomyopathy
