BENIGN VENTRICULAR TACHYCARDIA IN SYSTEMIC SARCOIDOSIS : A Case of False Tendon

A 22-year-old female patient was diagnosed as having systemic sarcoidosis with pulmonary, skin and ocular lesions, and ventricular tachycardia in resting ECG. Although cardiac sarcoidosis was strongly suspected at diagnosis, no clinical symptom such as palpitation or syncope developed during the three year observation period. Cardiac silhouette was unchanged in chest X-ray and 201 thallium myocardial scintigraphy revealed no abnormality. Ventricular complex was suppressed by exercise or tachycardia. Two-dimensional echocardiogram showed abnormal fascicular bands attached from the mid-septum to the apex (false tendon). Therefore, it was concluded that this benign form of ventricular tachycardia might be due to the false tendon, rather than to the cardiac involvement of sarcoidosis. The cause of arrhythmia is important when evaluating the prognosis of a patient with a systemic disease.