Abstract
Left ventricular hypertrophy has been reportedly shown in cases of sarcoidosis. We investigated the frequency, and clinical and morphological characteristics of left ventricular hypertrophy in 70 patients with cardiac sarcoidosis who showed abnormalities in echocardiogram and myocardial scintigrams. Left ventricular hypertrophy was found in 20 (29%) of the 70 patients, and the most-frequently observed morphological abnormalities followed the thinning of the septum (29 cases, 41%). Asymmetrical septal hypertrophy such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) was found in 17 of the 20 cases. A hyperechoic area was found in the sepal wall in most of the cases. Myocardial biopsy was performed in 10 cases, and pathological findings revealed myocardial hypertrophy, fatty degeneration, and fibrosis, but there was no clear evidence of disarrangement of myocardial cells as seen in HCM. Left ventricular hypertrophy was not unusual in the patients with cardiac sarcoidosis. However, it is difficult to differentiate sarcoidosis from HCM on the basis of morphology and pathological findings.
