[Changes in the electrocardiogram in patients with sarcoidosis]

Cardiac manifestations of sarcoidosis reflect the presence of granulomata in the myocardium or pulmonary arterial hypertension due to the advanced pulmonary form of the disease. Electrocardiographic changes may point to the form of the underlying pathology. The electrocardiograms of 150 newly diagnosed, untreated sarcoid patients, of whom no one had cardiac symptoms were analysed. Pathologic ECG changes indicative of myocardial sarcoidosis and/or pulmonary arterial hypertension were found in 20 (13.3%) patients. In cases with pathologic changes the ECG following the corticosteroid therapy was examined to test the stability or transitoriness of these changes. Two thirds of them disappeared following the corticosteroid therapy. Patients with the pathologic ECG, compared to the group as a whole, had a significantly more frequent pulmonary form of sarcoidosis and more severe restrictive and obstructive ventilatory changes.