Sarcoidosis is the growth of inflammatory cells, known as granulomas, that can deposit in different organs of the human body. Sarcoidosis can affect your lungs, heart, eyes, skin, kidneys, liver, and other organs. It may be caused by an immunological response to an unidentified trigger.

Symptoms

• Shortness of breath
• Abnormal fast or slow heart rhythms
• Fatigue, weakness
• Dizziness, fainting
• Weight loss
• Chest pain

How common is Cardiac Sarcoidosis?

• Clinically symptomatic cardiac involvement is present in 25% of patients with sarcoidosis.
• 25% of patients with cardiac sarcoidosis may have isolated cardiac sarcoidosis without involvement of other organs.
• Cardiac involvement may precede, follow, or occur concurrently with involvement of other organs.

How is it diagnosed?

Cardiac sarcoidosis can be difficult to diagnose. In some cases, a biopsy of the heart may be used to make a definite diagnosis. However, since the granulomas are randomly distributed in the heart, a cardiac biopsy may be abnormal in only 30-50% of patients with cardiac sarcoidosis.

Other tests that are used to help diagnose sarcoidosis include:

• EKG and Holter Monitor (to look for abnormal slow and fast rhythms)
• Echocardiogram (to evaluate cardiac function)
• Cardiac MRI (to look for scarring)
• Cardiac PET scan (to look for inflammation)
• Biopsy of organs other than the heart A seasoned team of experts who’ve led their field

How is it treated?

The goal of treatment for sarcoidosis is to prevent damage to organs. We use different immunosuppressive medications to treat active inflammation. These medications include steroids, mycophenolate mofetil, methotrexate, azathioprine, and infliximab. Each treatment is tailored to the individual patient.

Comprehensive Team

The UR Medicine Comprehensive Sarcoidosis Program provides care to patients with multi-organ sarcoidosis or difficult to treat sarcoidosis.

Every patient is unique and may have different organ systems affected by the disease.

During your evaluation and treatment, you may see multiple specialists, including a cardiologist, pulmonologist, rheumatologist, and ophthalmologist, to name just a few. All of the specialists in our program communicate regularly and meet monthly to discuss complex cases which provides integrated care for patients.

Contact Us

Referrals to the center can be made by contacting the Pulmonology Clinic at (585) 275-4161 or the Advanced Heart Failure Program at (585) 273-3760.