The diagnosis of myocardial sarcoidosis frequently is not made in life, but according to recent reports it is the most frequent cause of death in sarcoidosis cases in Japan.
The frequency, features and courses of electrocardiographic changes in 104 sarcoidosis patients were analysed. As control studies, for each sex and age range double the number of normal persons was examined of the sarcoidosis patients.
The results were as follows:
1) Abnormal ECG findings were observed in 37.5% of sarcoidosis patients, as compared to 11.5% of healthy persons (p>0.001), and the difference was more significant in age groups under 40.
2) ECG findings significantly frequent in sarcoidosis were sinus arrhythmia, VPB, RBBB, and LAD. SVPB and A-V block were also frequent in sarcoidosis patients and often appeared during the course of sarcoidosis.
3) The courses of ECG findings correlated with the courses of chest X-ray findings in sarcoidosis patients.
