Prenatal echocardiographic appearance of arrhythmogenic right ventricle dysplasia: A case report

We report a case of arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia (ARVD) diagn osed prenatally by echocardiography at 24 weeks gestation. The 4-chamber vi ew showed a large outpouched area extending from below the tricuspid valve to the insertion of the moderator band; the affected wall appeared thin and akinetic, with absence of flow at color Doppler investigation and no evide nce of cardiovascular failure. The size of the outpouched area was unchange d at subsequent controls (25 and 26 weeks gestation) when frequent extrasys toles occurred, probably of a ventricular origin. The pregnancy was termina ted at 27 weeks. The histopathologic examination of the fetal heart showed the presence of clusters of adipocytes interspersed with myocardial fibers, consistent with the diagnosis of ARM Copyright (C) 2001 S. Karger AG, Base l.