Sarcoid myocarditis with ventricular tachycardia mimicking ARVD/C.

J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol. 2010 Jan; 21(1):94-8.JC

Cardiac sarcoidosis (CS) is a multisystem granulomatous disorder of unknown etiology with frequent cardiac involvement. We describe a patient presenting with a ventricular tachycardia, presumably originating in the right ventricle (RV). This patient had a malignant clinical course with initial diagnosis of arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia/cardiomyopathy (ARVD/C); however, at postmortem histopathology revealed epithelioid granulomas with fibrosis localized in the interventricular septum, typical for sarcoidosis, without signs of extracardiac sarcoidosis. In conclusion, sarcoid myocarditis may present with signs and symptoms of ARVD/C and only histopathology can differentiate the 2 diseases. In the cases of atypical clinical presentation or when histopathological proof of ARVD is absent, a close follow-up is advisable to identify other potentially treatable disorders.