Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy post-mortem assessment: a systematic review

Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is a genetic disorder characterized by the progressive fibro-fatty replacement of the right ventricular myocardium, leading to myocardial atrophy. Although the structural changes usually affect the right ventricle, the pathology may also manifest with either isolated left ventricular myocardium or biventricular involvement. As ARVC shows an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance with variable penetrance, the clinical presentation of the disease is highly heterogeneous, with different degrees of severity and patterns of myocardial involvement even in patients of the same familiar group with the same gene mutation: the pathology spectrum ranges from the absence of symptoms to sudden cardiac death (SCD) sustained by ventricular arrhythmias, which may, in some cases, be the first manifestation of an otherwise silent pathology. An evidence-based systematic review of the literature was conducted to evaluate the state of the art of the diagnostic techniques for the correct post-mortem identification of ARVC. The research was performed using the electronic databases PubMed and Scopus. A methodological approach to reach a correct post-mortem diagnosis of ARVC was described, analyzing the main post-mortem peculiar macroscopic, microscopic and radiological alterations. In addition, the importance of performing post-mortem genetic tests has been underlined, which may lead to the correct identification and characterization of the disease, especially in those ARVC forms where anatomopathological investigation does not show evident morphostructural damage. Furthermore, the usefulness of genetic testing is not exclusively limited to the correct diagnosis of the pathology, but is essential for promoting targeted screening programs to the deceased’s family members. Nowadays, the post-mortem diagnosis of ARVC performed by forensic pathologist remains very challenging: therefore, the identification of a clear methodological approach may lead to both a reduction in under-diagnoses and to the improvement of knowledge on the disease.