Deterioration of cardiac function during the progression of cardiac sarcoidosis: Diagnosis and treatment

Abstract

The cardiac involvement of sarcoidosis causes progressive heart failure symptoms and is a life-threatening condition; thus, an early and appropriate diagnosis of this condition is crucial. On the other hand, the decline in the cardiac function is rapid; therefore, patients usually have moderate-severe left ventricular dysfunction when diagnosed with cardiac sarcoidosis, which may decrease the effectiveness of therapies. We herein report three illustrative cases of heart failure due to cardiac sarcoidosis in patients who were or were not diagnosed with preceding systemic sarcoidosis. We also discuss the currently available diagnostic modalities and possible biomarkers for the diagnosis of cardiac sarcoidosis. © 2014 The Japanese Society of Internal Medicine.