Apoptotic myocardial cell death in the setting of arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy.

Background: Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is a primary heart muscle disease characterized by progressive atrophy of the right ventricular myocardium accompanied by fibro-fatty replacement. We examined whether the loss of myocardial cells in the setting of ARVC could result from cell death by apoptosis as demonstrated by the detection of DNA fragmentation and the expression of apoptosis regulatory proteins (e.g.

Is the site of thrombus formation in the left atrial appendage associated with the risk of cerebral embolism?

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a risk factor for cerebral embolism, with the left atrial appendage (LAA) being considered as the source of emboli. However, the relationship between the histologic properties of LAA thrombi and the occurrence of cerebral embolism is not known. Seventy-six hearts from patients who died within 1 month after cerebral embolism were studied at autopsy.