Detecting cardiac involvement in sarcoidosis: A call for prospective studies of newer imaging techniques

Abstract

Diagnosis of cardiac involvement in sarcoidosis is challenging and usually relies on a combination of clinical findings and imaging abnormalities. The case of a 53-yr-old female is described who presented with ventricular tachycardia and suspected angiosarcoma involving the right atrium and superior vena cava. A combination of magnetic resonance imaging and 18F-2-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose-positron emission tomography were essential to the diagnosis of cardiac sarcoidosis. Reversibility of the disease was predicted more clearly by 18F-2-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose-positron emission tomography than by magnetic resonance imaging, and clinical activity was predicted by persistent hypermetabolism on serial 18F-2-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose-positron emission tomography. Copyright © ERS Journals Ltd 2007.