News:New Test Can Diagnose ARVC

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(WikiDoc) - Researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston have demonstrated an immunohistochemical test that reliably diagnoses arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC). Doctors were able to correctly diagnose 10 of 11 subjects with definite ARVC and correctly ruled it out in another 10 of 11 subjects, according to results published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The authors conclude more research is needed but the results hold promise for identifying the condition when it can still be treated. "This is a disease in many cases where the first and only symptom is sudden death. And then it's discovered in autopsy," senior author Dr. Jeffrey Saffitz told WikiDoc. "The next step will be testing whether a skin test could detect ARVC," Saffitz says, which would eliminate the need for the heart biopsy Saffitz' team used in conducting their ARVC test.