Late presentation of arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy: a case report

Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy is an inherited myocardial disease affecting predominantly young people and manifests as sustained ventricular tachycardia with left bundle branch block morphology, sudden death or isolated right or biventricular heart failure. However, its first manifestation as sustained ventricular tachycardia in older patients without preceding symptoms of heart failure is infrequent. To our knowledge, our patient is among the oldest reported in the literature presenting with ventricular tachycardia because of arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy without preceding symptoms of heart failure.

We present an unusual case of a very late presentation of a right ventricular cardiomyopathy in a 72-year-old white Caucasian man. The patient was admitted with symptoms of weakness, dizziness and chest discomfort for several hours. His electrocardiogram showed a wide-complex tachycardia with left bundle branch block morphology and left axis deviation. Because of continuing hemodynamic instability, the patient was cardioverted to sinus rhythm with a single 300 J shock. His post-cardioversion electrocardiogram, cardiac echocardiogram, coronary angiogram, magnetic resonance imaging and electrophysiological study confirmed the diagnosis of arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy. The patient was treated with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator and discharged on sotalol.

This case report demonstrates that arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy may have a very late presentation and this diagnosis should be considered as a potential cause of sustained ventricular tachycardia of right ventricular origin among the elderly and should be treated accordingly.