Value of the echocardiographic findings of arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia with left ventricular involvement in a child

A 9-year-old girl was admitted because she had had palpitations for 2 years. Her electrocardiogram revealed multifocal ectopic beats with left bundle branch morphology, sinoatrial block, and first- and second-degree atrioventricular blocks. Cross-sectional echocardiography demonstrated an enlarged left ventricle and filling defects and sacculations of the posterior left ventricular wall, apex, and septum. The diagnosis of arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia (ARVD) was confirmed by endomyocardial biopsy and thallium 201 scintigraphy. We present this case because of the rarity of left ventricular involvement associated with ARVD. We also emphasize the value of echocardiography in the early diagnosis of ARVD.