A complete heart block in a young male: a case report and review of literature of cardiac sarcoidosis

• Published in: Heart failure reviews Vol. 22; no. 1; pp. 55 - 64
• Main Authors: Patel, Brijesh, Shah, Mahek, Gelaye, Alehegn, Dusaj, Raman
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 2017; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adult; Cardiology; Cardiomyopathies - complications; Cardiomyopathies - diagnosis; Cardiomyopathies - physiopathology; Diagnosis, Differential; Echocardiography; Electrocardiography; Heart Block - diagnosis; Heart Block - etiology; Heart Block - physiopathology; Heart Rate; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Cine; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Sarcoidosis - complications; Sarcoidosis - diagnosis; Sarcoidosis - physiopathology; Stroke Volume; Ventricular Function, Left; Complete heart block; Cardiac sarcoidosis
• ISSN: 1382-4147; 1573-7322
• DOI: 10.1007/s10741-016-9585-0

Cardiac sarcoidosis is one of the uncommon causes of heart failure. Generally, it presents in the form of varying clinical manifestations ranging from asymptomatic to fatal arrhythmias such as ventricular tachycardia and complete heart block. It is difficult to make a diagnosis strictly based on clinical grounds. However, in the setting of extracardiac sarcoidosis and patients presenting with advanced heart block or ventricular arrhythmia, direct cardiac involvement should be suspected. The definitive diagnosis of cardiac sarcoidosis can be made from endomyocardial biopsy, but it is falling out of favor due to patchy myocardial involvement, considerable procedure-related risks, and advancement in additional imaging modalities. Once cardiac sarcoidosis has been diagnosed, management of the disease remains challenging. Steroids are considered the mainstay of therapy, and implantable cardioverter defibrillator therapy can be considered in a selected group of patients at greater risk for malignant ventricular arrhythmias.