Unexpected sudden death in pregnancy – arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy/dysplasia: a case report

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease is an important contributor to maternal mortality in both developing and developed countries. Systematic search for cardiac disease is usually not performed during pregnancy despite hypertensive disease, undiagnosed pulmonary hypertension and cardiomyopathies being recognized as major health problems in these settings. This article reported a 27-year-old female who was normal on clinical examination and basic investigations, and on an antenatal visit was found collapsed in the toilet of her house and was pronounced dead on admission to hospital. She was found to be in the 11th week of pregnancy and had no history of significant illness in the past. Autopsy did not reveal any obvious macroscopic pathology except for a significant amount of epicardial fat infiltrating into myocardium of right ventricle. Detailed histopathological examination of the heart demonstrated fibro-fatty replacement of the heart muscle. The cause of death was arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy/dysplasia (ARVC/D). ARVC/D can cause unexpected sudden death during pregnancy. Therefore, it is recommended that an ECG and echocardiogram be included as screening tests during antenatal follow-up to minimize preventable cardiac deaths like ARVC/D.