Aims: Clinical and electrocardiographic (ECG) presentation of patients with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) and idiopathic right ventricular outflow-tract tachycardia (RVOT) may be similar. The aim of the study was to assess the validity and utility of T-wave integral measurement as an ECG discriminator of patients with ARVC and RVOT using a body surface mapping (BSM).
Methods and results: A 120-channel BSM with quantitative signal analysis of the T-wave integral was performed in 10 patients with ARVC. Results were compared with those obtained from 13 patients with RVOT and a control group of 12 healthy subjects (controls). Age, body mass index, and QRS-axis on surface ECG were not significantly different between the groups. Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy patients showed a significantly negative T-wave integral in the right lower anterior region of the torso when compared with RVOT (P < 0.001). There was no statistically significant difference between RVOT patients and controls. At a cut-off level of -0.3 mV ms, sensitivity and specificity were 83% [area under curve (AUC) 0.85 ± 0.04 for the comparison of ARVC and RVOT]. These differences were pronounced in ARVC patients with a plakophlin-2 mutation (P < 0.001).
Conclusion: Quantitative analysis of the BSM T-wave integral in distinct anatomical regions discriminates ARVC patients from RVOT patients and controls and may serve as an additional diagnostic tool.