Cardiac Sarcoidosis: Diagnosis and Emerging Therapeutic Strategies

A special issue of Journal of Clinical Medicine (ISSN 2077-0383). This special issue belongs to the section "Cardiovascular Medicine".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2025 | Viewed by 2148

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. MBBS, MRCP, Royal Brompton Hospital, London SW3 6NP, UK
2. National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
Interests: sarcoidosis; cardiac; big data; systematic reviews and meta-analysis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Medicine, Keele University, Staffordshire ST5 5BG, UK
Interests: percutaneous coronary intervention; cardiology; interventional cardiology; cardiovascular epidemiology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Cardiac sarcoidosis is a heterogeneous condition that is associated with high grade atrioventricular bock, ventricular arrhythmias, heart failure, and sudden cardiac death in young individuals. What was historically considered a rare and underdiagnosed condition is now increasingly being diagnosed early with the advent of advanced imaging, namely cardiac MRI and FDG-PET scan. However, much remains unknown—what are the ideal treatment options? When should cardiac devices be considered? Who should be screened? What are the high-risk features (demographic, clinical, and imaging)? In this Special Issue, we invite authors to submit papers addressing some of these knowledge gaps with the aim to improve the lives of patients affected by cardiac sarcoidosis.

Dr. Raheel Ahmed
Dr. Muhammad Rashid
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Clinical Medicine is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • cardiac sarcoidosis
  • outcomes
  • imaging
  • devices
  • steroids
  • immunosuppressants
  • isolated cardiac sarcoidosis
  • systemic cardiac sarcoidosis
  • endomyocardial biopsy
  • heterogeneity

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

13 pages, 1983 KiB  
Article
Nationwide Cross-Sectional Analysis of Mortality Trends in Patients with Sarcoidosis and Non-Ischemic Cardiovascular Disease—The Impact of Gender, Ethnicity, Geographical Location, and COVID-19 Pandemic
by Raheel Ahmed, Mushood Ahmed, Yehya Khlidj, Obaid Ur Rehman, Laith Al-Mukhtar, Noha Abou Khater, Syed Khurram Mustaq Gardezi, Muhammad Rashid, Peter Collins, Hritvik Jain, Kamleshun Ramphul, Mudassar Baig, Anwar Chahal, Vasilis Kouranos, Nitish Behary Paray and Rakesh Sharma
J. Clin. Med. 2024, 13(23), 7463; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm13237463 - 8 Dec 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1274
Abstract
Background and Objectives: The epidemiological data regarding mortality rates of adults with sarcoidosis and non-ischemic cardiovascular disease (CVD) are limited. A retrospective observational analysis was conducted to identify trends and disparities related to sarcoidosis and non-ischemic cardiovascular disease mortality among the adult US [...] Read more.
Background and Objectives: The epidemiological data regarding mortality rates of adults with sarcoidosis and non-ischemic cardiovascular disease (CVD) are limited. A retrospective observational analysis was conducted to identify trends and disparities related to sarcoidosis and non-ischemic cardiovascular disease mortality among the adult US population from 1999 to 2022. Methods: We used the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) WONDER database to extract death certificate data for the adult US population (≥25 years). The age-adjusted mortality rates (AAMRs) per 100,000 persons were calculated, and annual percent changes (APCs) were determined using Joinpoint. Results: Between 1999 and 2022, 23,642 deaths were identified related to non-ischemic CVD + sarcoidosis. The overall AAMR increased from 0.2 (95% CI, 0.2 to 0.3) in 1999 to 0.5 (95% CI, 0.5 to 0.6) in 2022. Females had a higher AAMR than males (0.6 vs. 0.5). Non-Hispanic (NH) blacks had the highest AAMR, followed by NH whites and Hispanic or Latinos. The southern region had the highest AAMR (0.7: 95% CI, 0.6–0.7), followed by the Midwest (0.6, 95% CI, 0.54–0.669), the Northeast (0.5, 95% CI, 0.5 to 0.6), and the West (0.4; 95% CI, 0.3–0.4). Urban and rural areas had comparable mortality rates (0.5 vs. 0.6). People aged 65+ had the highest AAMRs. Conclusions: The overall mortality rates for non-ischemic CVD and sarcoidosis have increased in the US from 1999 to 2022. Females and NH blacks had higher AAMRs, while a minimal variation was observed based on geographical regions. Early diagnosis and prompt management are the keys to reducing the mortality burden of non-ischemic CVD plus sarcoidosis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cardiac Sarcoidosis: Diagnosis and Emerging Therapeutic Strategies)
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

Review

Jump to: Research

17 pages, 1982 KiB  
Review
Cardiac Sarcoidosis and Inherited Cardiomyopathies: Clinical Masquerade or Overlap?
by Sami Fouda, Rebecca Godfrey, Christopher Pavitt, Thomas Alway, Steven Coombs, Susan M. Ellery, Victoria Parish, John Silberbauer and Alexander Liu
J. Clin. Med. 2025, 14(5), 1609; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14051609 - 27 Feb 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 506
Abstract
Cardiac sarcoidosis (CS) and inherited cardiomyopathies (inherited CM) are associated with advanced heart failure, cardiac conduction defects, ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. Both conditions can have similar clinical presentations. Differentiating between the two disease cohorts is important in delivering specific management to [...] Read more.
Cardiac sarcoidosis (CS) and inherited cardiomyopathies (inherited CM) are associated with advanced heart failure, cardiac conduction defects, ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. Both conditions can have similar clinical presentations. Differentiating between the two disease cohorts is important in delivering specific management to patients, such as immunosuppressive therapy for CS patients and genetic screening for inherited CM. In this review, we examined the existing evidence on the overlap between CS and common inherited CM, such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy, restrictive cardiomyopathy and dilated cardiomyopathy. In patients where both CS and inherited CM were implicated, CS tended to be diagnosed much later, often when patients presented with complications warranting a workup or cardiac histological confirmation. CS can masquerade as an inherited CM, leading to delays in the instigation of CS therapy. Confirmed dual pathology overlap between inherited CM and CS is rarer. Advanced cardiac imaging, such as cardiovascular magnetic resonance, plays an important role in the clinical workup of both CS and inherited CM. However, findings on cardiac imaging alone often cannot differentiate between the two conditions. Definitive differentiation between CS and inherited CM requires both clinical experience and, at times, a myocardial biopsy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cardiac Sarcoidosis: Diagnosis and Emerging Therapeutic Strategies)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop