ARRHYTHMOGENIC RIGHT-VENTRICULAR DYSPLASIA - EVALUATION WITH ELECTRON-BEAM CT

The authors evaluated four cases of arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia (ARVD) with electron-beam computed tomography (CT). Except for magnetic resonance imaging, noninvasive imaging techniques such as two-dimensional echocardiography and radionuclide angiography cannot always depict the abnormal morphology of the right ventricle. Definite diagnosis of ARVD requires the use of invasive cardiac cineangiography. Proper identification of right ventricular involvement in ARVD with CT helps in the diagnosis. Volume-mode CT clearly depicted an enlarged right ventricle with a scalloped surface of the free wall, conspicuous trabeculations with low attenuation, and abundant epicardial adipose tissue, which are characteristics of ARVD. Cine-mode CT revealed reduced right ventricle function and abnormal wall motion. The authors propose that millisecond-order, electron-beam CT is a suitable noninvasive examination for evaluafing the morphologic characteristics of the right ventricle and its function in ARVD.