Cardiac Sarcoidosis Multi-Center Prospective Cohort

Baseline assessment of Clinically Manifest CS patients consists of: history, echocardiogram, ECG, chest CT scan, FDG-PET scan, blood for biomarkers within 2 months of the PET scan, cardiac MRI and possibly a signal average ECG and biopsy (encouraged-either endomyocardial or extra-cardiac).

Follow-up and clinical management of clinically manifest patients diagnosed with CS will occur at 3-6 months with a repeat FDG-PET scan and blood biomarkers. Follow-up will then be annually with an echo and ECG. Treatment with steroids/immunosuppressants and device therapy will be at the discretion of the treating physician.

Baseline assessment of patients diagnosed with extra-cardiac sarcoidosis and being screened for CS consists of: history, echocardiogram, ECG, holter, chest CT scan, biopsy, and cardiac MRI (CMR). If the CMR is suggestive of CS the patient will be have a FDG-PET scan done and be followed as a Clinically Silent patient. They will be contacted every 2 years. If the CMR is negative the patient will be followed as a extra-cardiac sarcoidosis patient with no evidence of CS and be in the control group. They will be contacted at 5 years and at the time of study completion.

All patients will be followed until the last patient recruited has been followed for 4 years.

The occurrence of the primary and secondary outcomes will be assessed in treated and untreated patients.

There will be 2 imaging core labs. The PET core lab will be located at UOHI under the direction of Dr. Robert Beanlands. The CMR core lab will be under the direction of Dr. Mathias Friedrich (McGill University). All scans will be read in the core labs by physicians who are blinded to the clinical details of the patients.

The Biomarker core lab will be at The University of Ottawa Heart Institute under the leadership of Dr P Liu.

Inclusion criteria

To diagnose Clinically Manifest CS all following criteria must be met:

(i) Positive biopsy* for Sarcoid (either EMB or extra-cardiac) AND/OR (ii) CT Chest highly suggestive of pulmonary sarcoidosis AND (iii) one or more of the following clinical features:

• advanced conduction system disease (sustained Mobitz II AV block or third degree AV block)
• non- sustained or sustained ventricular arrhythmia
• ventricular dysfunction (LVEF < 50% and/or RVEF < 40%) AND (iv) No alternative explanation for clinical features AND (v) FDG-PET suggestive of active CS

To diagnose clinically silent CS all of the following criteria must be met

(i) Biopsy proven extra-cardiac sarcoidosis

AND/OR (ii) CT Chest highly suggestive of pulmonary sarcoidosis

AND (iii) CMR suggestive of cardiac sarcoidosis

AND (iv) Does not have criteria for clinically manifest CS ie. should not have any of following

• advanced conduction system disease (sustained Mobitz II AV block or third degree AV block)
• non- sustained or sustained ventricular arrhythmia
• ventricular dysfunction (LVEF < 50% and/or RVEF < 40%)

Patients with negative CMR will be designated as 'extra-cardiac sarcoidosis with no evidence of CS' and followed as control

Exclusion criteria

• unable or unwilling to provide informed consent
• patients who are pregnant or lactating
• patients with known claustrophobia
• age < 18 years