Atypical presentation of cardiac sarcoidosis: role of multimodality imaging and review of literature

Cardiac sarcoidosis (CS) is challenging to determine, consequently is under-recognised in clinical practice. The accurate prevalence of CS is possibly underestimated due to unspecific symptoms, subclinical illness and the dearth of universally accepted diagnostic criteria. Totally, non-invasive diagnosis of CS was proposed in 2015 by the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare using positron emission tomography and cardiac MRI findings as major criteria and substituting histological verification. We present a case of a 60-year-old woman with pulmonary sarcoidosis presenting with progressively worsening palpitations and recurrent syncope. Her initial evaluation at another hospital facility revealed normal cardiac testing. A detailed evaluation with echocardiography and cardiac MRI helped us arrive at the diagnosis of CS, which resulted in appropriate treatment and resolution of symptoms. We discuss CS in general, the clinical disease, diagnostic algorithms, latest guidelines and management