Case report: desmoplakin cardiomyopathy presenting as an inflammatory cardiomyopathy with repeated sudden cardiac arrests
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Published on: March 3, 2021
Emmanuelle Massie1, Arnaud Dominati2, Sebastian Suchet3
1Cardiology Service, University Hospital of Geneva, Rue Gabrielle Perret-Gentil 4, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland.
Insights
Desmoplakin cardiomyopathy, a rare heart condition, presents with inflammation and scarring. This case highlights a new gene variant and discusses potential, though limited, benefits of immunosuppressive treatment for this challenging diagnosis.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Genetics
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Desmoplakin cardiomyopathy is a recently classified non-dilated left ventricular cardiomyopathy.
- It involves inflammatory episodes, left ventricular fibrosis, dysfunction, and ventricular arrhythmias.
- Current management strategies remain unclear.
Background:
Desmoplakin cardiomyopathy has been recently classified as a non-dilated left ventricular cardiomyopathy, which is characterized by inflammatory-like episodes followed by left ventricular fibrosis/dysfunction and ventricular arrhythmias. Specific management is unclear.
Case Summary:
We report a detailed case of a 46-year-old Caucasian woman presenting with repeated sudden cardiac arrests who was diagnosed with a new variant in the desmoplakin gene. Because the initial 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography scan showed significant hypermetabolism, she was treated with immunosuppressors, with only minimal improvement on imaging.
Discussion:
Desmoplakin cardiomyopathy should be considered in the differential diagnosis of inflammatory cardiomyopathies. Little is known about the use of immunosuppressive treatments, but it could be reasonable for some selected patients.
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