PET-detected Myocardial Inflammation is a Characteristic of Cardiac Sarcoid But Not of ARVC

Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is a rare condition in which the heart muscle cells especially of the main pumping chamber (the 'ventricle') is replaced by fat and scar tissue. Sarcoidosis is a condition that can affect many organs but when it affects the heart patches of inflammation can result in scarring, especially of the ventricles. Both conditions can cause dangerous heart rhythms and sudden death. Sarcoidosis can be treated with inflammation suppressing treatment (steroids), as well as pacemakers and implantable defibrillators which shock the heart back to normal rhythm. ARVC is usually treated with implantable defibrillators. The diagnosis of either condition can be difficult and indeed distinguishing the two can be extremely challenging. Increasingly nuclear scans (PET) are used to identify inflammation in the heart in patients suspected of having cardiac sarcoid. It is not known whether patients with ARVC have abnormal PET scans.