Diagnosis of arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy: The Padua criteria ScienceDirect Journal of

2020 Theoriginaldesignation of “ Arrhythmogenic rightventricular (dysplasia/)cardiomyopathy ” (ARVC)was usedby the scientists who fi rst discovered the disease, in the pre-genetic and pre-cardiac magnetic resonance era, to describeanewheartmusclediseasepredominantlyaffectingtherightventricle,whosecardinalclinicalmanifes- tationwastheoccurrenceofmalignantventriculararrhythmias.Subsequently,autopsyinvestigations,genotype-phenotype correlations studies and the increasing use of contrast-enhancement cardiac magnetic resonance showed that the fi bro-fatty replacement of the myocardium represents the distinctive phenotypic feature of the disease that affects the myocardium of both ventricles, with left ventricular involvement which may parallel or exceed the severity of right ventricular involvement. This has led to the new designation of “ Arrhythmogenic Cardiomyopathy ” (ACM), that represents the evolution of the original term of ARVC. The present International Expert Consensus document proposes an upgrade of the criteria for diagnosis of the entire spectrum of the phenotypic variants of ACM. The proposed “ Padua criteria ” derive from the diagnostic approach to ACM, which has been developed over 30 years by the multidisciplinary team of basic researchers and clinical cardiologists of the Medical School of the University of Padua. The Padua criteria are a working framework to improve the diagnosis of ACM by introducing new diagnostic criteria regarding tissue characterization fi ndings by contrast-enhanced cardiac magnetic resonance, depolarization/repolarization ECG abnormalities and ventricular The present report represents a further step toward the necessary upgrading of the criteria for diagnosis of the entire spectrum of phenotypic variants of ACM and provides a modern clinical fl ow-chart for the diagnosis of ACM. The proposed criteria derive from the diagnostic approach to ACM, which has been developed over 30 years by the multidisciplinary team of basic researchers and clinical cardiologists of the Medical School of the University of Padua. The writing panel was enriched by the inclusion of International Experts. cardiomyopathy, cardiac sarcoidosis, myocarditis, pulmonary artery hypertension, or Chagas disease.