Arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM) is an inherited genetic disease characterized by a progressive atrophy of the cardiac muscle, which is replaced by fibroadipose tissue, leading to clinical ventricular dysfunction and to the development of malignant cardiac arrhythmias. Although the disease has been traditionally known as right ventricular arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy/dysplasia, there can be a concomitant or predominant compromise of the left ventricle. Clinical criteria have been defined for the disease, and the presence of a pathogenic mutation is one of them. Disease detection is important, since it its presence is associated with a significant risk of sudden death, especially in young subjects.
The prevalence of the disease was estimated to be 1 in 5,000 individuals.