Right and left ventricular function at rest and with exercise in patients with sarcoidosis

Fourteen patients with restrictive pulmonary disease due to sarcoidosis were studied with radionuclide angiocardiography in order to define the incidence and significance of right and left ventricular dysfunction. Right and left ventricular ejection fractions were determined by an equilibrium technique at both rest and exercise. All patients had a normal left ventricular ejection fraction with rest and 12 of 14 had the normal 5 percent or greater rise in ejection fraction with exercise. The right ventricular ejection fraction was abnormal in three patients at rest and only two patients had a 5 percent or greater rise in ejection fraction with exercise. A correlation was found between the right ventricular ejection fraction with exercise and the total lung capacity (r = 0.73, p less than 0.01) and the arterial PO2 during exercise (r = 0.74, p less than 0.01).