Spontaneous Reduction in Abnormal Myocardial Uptake of Fluorine-18 Fluorodeoxygluose in a Patient with Cardiac Sarcoidosis

Abstract

Fluorine-18 fluorodeoxygluose (¹⁸F-FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) is a useful tool for evaluating disease activity in sarcoidosis including cardiac involvement. A 67-year-old patient who developed atrioventricular block requiring permanent pacemaker implantation was diagnosed with cardiac sarcoidosis. The patient did not undergo steroid or immunosuppressive therapy but underwent serial ¹⁸F-FDG PET examination, which showed spontaneous reduction in the myocardial FDG uptake, indicating the remission of immune-inflammatory activity. Although the global systolic function remained preserved, thinning of the septal wall emerged during the clinical course of follow-up, which is characteristic for cardiac sarcoidosis.