Implantable cardioverter/defibrillator therapy in arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy: single-center experience of long-term follow-up and complications in 60 patients.

BACKGROUND: Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is a major cause of ventricular tachycardia (VT) and cardiac arrest in young patients. We hypothesized that treatment with implantable cardioverter/defibrillators (ICDs) is safe and improves the long-term prognosis of ARVC patients at high risk of sudden death.

METHODS AND RESULTS: Sixty patients with ARVC (aged 43+/-16 years) were treated with transvenous ICD systems. Despite a higher number of right ventricular sites tested for adequate lead positions (P<0.05), lower R-wave amplitudes (P<0.001) were achieved in ARVC patients compared with other entities. During follow-up of 80+/-43 months (396 patient-years), event-free survival was 49%, 30%, 26%, and 26% for appropriate ICD therapies and 79%, 64%, 59%, and 56% for potentially fatal VT (>240 bpm) after 1, 3, 5, and 7 years, respectively. Multivariate analysis identified extensive right ventricular dysfunction as an independent predictor of appropriate ICD discharge. Fifty-three adverse events occurred in 37 patients during the perioperative (n=10) or follow-up (n=43) period, mainly related to the leads (n=31 in 21 patients). No lead perforation was observed. Freedom from adverse events was 90%, 78%, 56%, and 42% and freedom from lead-related complications was 95%, 85%, 74%, and 63% after 1, 3, 5, and 7 years, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS: These results strongly suggest an improvement in long-term prognosis by ICD therapy in high-risk patients with ARVC. However, meticulous placement and long-term observation of transvenous lead performance with focus on sensing function are required for the prevention and/or early recognition of disease progression and lead-related morbidity during long-term follow-up of ICD therapy in ARVC.