title: Primary prevention of sudden cardiac death in silent cardiac sarcoidosis: role of programmed ventricular stimulation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cardiac involvement in sarcoidosis is often silent and may lead to sudden death. This study was designed to assess the value of programmed electric stimulation of the ventricle (PES) for risk stratification in patients with sarcoidosis and evidence of preclinical cardiac involvement on imaging studies.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients with biopsy-proven systemic sarcoidosis but without cardiac symptoms who had evidence of cardiac sarcoidosis on positron emission tomography (PET) or cardiac MRI (CMR) were included. All patients underwent baseline evaluation, echocardiographic assessment of left ventricular function, and programmed electric stimulation of the ventricle. Patients were followed for survival and arrhythmic events. Seventy-six patients underwent PES of the ventricle. Eight (11%) were inducible for sustained ventricular arrhythmias and received an implantable defibrillator. None of the noninducible patients received a defibrillator. Left ventricular ejection fraction was lower in patients with inducible ventricular arrhythmia (36.4±4.2% versus 55.8±1.5%, P<0.05). Over a median follow-up of 5 years, 6 of 8 patients in the group with inducible ventricular arrhythmias had ventricular arrhythmia or died, compared with 1 death in the negative group (P<0.0001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In patients with biopsy-proven sarcoidosis and evidence of cardiac involvement on PET or CMR alone, positive PES may help to identify patients at risk for ventricular arrhythmia. More importantly, patients in this cohort with a negative PES appear to have a benign course within the first several years following diagnosis. PES may help to guide the use of implantable cardioverter defibrillators in this population.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Mount Sinai Hospital and School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA. davendra.mehta@MSSM.edu
authors.forename: Davendra
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mehta
authors.forename: Neil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mori
authors.forename: Seth H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Goldbarg
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lubitz
authors.forename: Juan P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Wisnivesky
authors.forename: Alvin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Teirstein
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001145:Arrhythmias, Cardiac / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D009202:Cardiomyopathies / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D016757:Death, Sudden, Cardiac / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D017147:Defibrillators, Implantable; D022062:Electrophysiologic Techniques, Cardiac; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D012307:Risk Factors; D012507:Sarcoidosis / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D013318:Stroke Volume / Q000502:physiology; D018754:Ventricular Dysfunction / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology