Elevated plasma brain natriuretic peptide level in cardiac sarcoidosis patients with preserved ejection fraction

We sought to examine whether the plasma brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels are elevated in the cardiac sarcoidosis patients even with a preserved ejection fraction. The data from the patients with either pulmonary sarcoidosis without any evidence of cardiac involvement (n = 13) or cardiac sarcoidosis (n = 8) with a preserved ejection fraction (>55%) on echocardiography were analyzed. The median plasma BNP levels were significantly higher in the patients with cardiac sarcoidosis than in those with pulmonary sarcoidosis (101.5 +/- 65.1 vs. 15.6 +/- 10.5 pg/ml, p < 0.001), although there was no significant difference in left ventricular ejection fraction between the two populations. The plasma BNP level is thus considered to be a useful non-invasive biomarker for identifying a possible cardiac involvement in the sarcoidosis patients with a preserved ejection fraction.