Contemporary Diagnostics of Cardiac Sarcoidosis: The Importance of Multimodality Imaging

Abstract

Sarcoidosis is an inflammatory condition that can affect multiple organ systems and is characterized by the formation of non-caseating granulomas in various organs, including the heart. Due to suboptimal diagnostic rates, the true prevalence and incidence of cardiac sarcoidosis (CS) remain to be determined. In patients with suspected CS, an initial examination should include 12-lead ECG or ambulatory ECG monitoring, and echocardiography with the estimation of LV, RV function, and strain rate. In patients with confirmed extracardiac sarcoidosis and with high clinical suspicion for CS, sophisticated imaging modalities, including cardiac MRI and PET, are indicated. Typical inflammation patterns and myocardial scarring should pose a high suspicion for CS. In patients without diagnosed extracardiac sarcoidosis and high clinical suspicion, although with low diagnostic probability, an endomyocardial biopsy should be considered to establish the diagnosis of definite isolated cardiac sarcoidosis. Timely diagnosis enables the initiation of therapy and close monitoring of adverse cardiac events that can be life-threatening, including sudden cardiac death, ventricular tachycardia, high-degree AV block, and heart failure. Implementing biomarkers in correlation to cardiac imaging can determine the disease’s severity and progression but can also be helpful in following the treatment response. The formation of larger global registries can be helpful in the identification of independent predictors of adverse clinical events and the development of specific diagnostic algorithms to reduce the overall risk of this serious condition.

Keywords

• cardiac sarcoidosis
• cardiovascular imaging
• electrocardiography
• echocardiography
• cardiac magnetic resonance
• positron emission tomography