Evaluation of signal-averaged electrocardiography for clinical diagnosis in arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia.

Arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia (ARVD) is a heart muscle disorder of unknown etiology that is characterized pathologically by fibrofatty replacement of the right ventricular myocardium. We investigated the relationship between the electrocardiogram (ECG) appearances and signal-averaged ECG (SAECG) in 7 cases with ARVD, and evaluated the usefulness of SAECG as a screening test to detect patients with ARVD. Compared with the conventional 12-lead ECG, the SAECG detects abnormalities at a higher rate in ARVD patients (57% versus 86%). SAECG was more sensitive as a screening test to detect patients with ARVD than 12-lead ECG.