Different arrhythmic prognosis in high-risk arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy according to the indication of the defibrillator

Background: Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC/D) is an inherited cardiomyopathy characterized by ventricular arrhythmias and heart failure. The aim of our study was to analyze the impact of the ICD indication in the prognosis of patients with high-risk ARVC/D according to the consensus document. Methods The high-risk category includes patients who experienced cardiac arrest due to sustained ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation and patients with severe right or left ventricular dysfunction. We included 41 patients with high-risk ARVC/D: 33 in secondary prevention and 8 in primary prevention. Results We followed 41 patients during 6.37 ± 4.88 years. Twenty-six patients (63.4%) had at least one appropriate arrhythmic event: 24 p (72.7%) in secondary prevention and 2 p (25%) in primary prevention; p=0.02. Twenty-four patients (72.7%) in secondary prevention and five (62.5%) in primary prevention had a cardiovascular event such as arrhythmias, admission due to heart failure, heart transplantation or cardiovascular death. Conclusions High-risk ARVC/D patients had a high number of cardiovascular events, but their nature and treatment were different. Arrhythmic prognosis was worse in secondary prevention and most of the events found in primary prevention were related to heart failure and, therefore, without benefit of the ICD.