When Rare Illuminates Common: How Cardiocutaneous Syndromes Transformed Our Perspective on Arrhythmogenic Cardiomyopathy

Abstract

The classic cardiocutaneous syndromes of Naxos and Carvajal are rare. The myocardial disorder integral to their pathology – arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy – is arguably not uncommon, with a prevalence of up to 1 in 1,000 despite almost certain under-recognition. Yet the study of cardiocutaneous syndromes has been integral to evolution of the contemporary perspective of arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy – its clinical course, disease spectrum, genetics, and cellular and molecular mechanisms. Here we discuss how recognition of the association of hair and skin abnormalities with underlying heart disease transformed our conception of a little-understood but important cause of sudden cardiac death.

Keywords::

• cardiomyopathy
• genetics
• desmosome
• sudden cardiac death
• cardiocutaneous syndrome

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We are grateful to Dr Sripurna Das for her constructive comments on the manuscript.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no declarations of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

The authors were supported by the British Heart Foundation (SSC, WJM), the EU 5th Framework Program Research and Technology Development (QLG1-CT-2000-01091), and the Department of Health's NIHR Biomedical Research Centres funding scheme.