European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

PREVALENCE OF CARDIAC SARCOIDOSIS AND CARDIOVASCULAR OUTCOMES: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Maryam Ahmed, Tobalesi Opeyemi, Avtar Singh*, Prince Michael Gyan Kwafo, Khudija Nayab, Shahbaz Singh Nijjar, Dike Juliet Chioma, Hira Tahir, Abeeb Babatunde Oyedele9, Patrick Batti, Dike Victor Okechukwu, Yishwerer Karadapanddy, Kelechi Izunobi, Oluwamayowa Bababunmi and Daniel Kasho Williams

ABSTRACT

Background: Cardiac sarcoidosis is a rare inflammatory condition where immune cells form granulomas in different parts of the heart and may lead to manifestations such as heart failure, ventricular arrhythmias, and death. The aim of this systematic review is to synthesize evidence of prevalence and outcomes in patients with cardiac sarcoidosis. This study seeks to contribute to the paucity of literature in this area. Methods: Adhering to PRISMA 2020 Statement guidelines, a systematic review was conducted through June 15, 2022. PubMed, Cochrane Central, and Embase were used to locate original studies including cohorts and case controls. The following keywords were used: Cardiac, Sarcoidosis, Heart, Arrhythmia, Mortality, and Heart Failure. The data were entered into a shared spreadsheet which was presented in a tabulated format. All statistical analysis was conducted in SPSS v.23. Results: Out of the 1284 studies originally located through the systematic search, a total of 6 were included in this systematic review. Of the 18,194,709 participants, 128,921 had cardiac sarcoidosis. The three most commonly reported comorbidities were hypertension (n=32,287, 63.8%), diabetes mellitus (n=14,758, 31.1%) and ischemic heart disease (n=1,565, 3.4%). Reported outcomes included heart failure (n=30,096, 23.4%), mortality (n=2,398, 2.9) and ventricular tachycardia (n=1,111, 2.4%). Conclusion: Cardiac sarcoidosis while rare occurs in around 10% of patients with sarcoidosis. When isolated to only the heart, various effects such as arrhythmias, conduction abnormalities, heart failure, and death can occur. The etiology of the disease is believed to be either environmental or infection. So far, immunosuppression in combination with steroid therapy has proven to be of benefit for immediate improvement in outcomes. Larger-powered clinical studies are required to denote the most valuable imaging modalities, therapies, and long-term prognostic outcomes in patients.

Keywords: Cardiac; Sarcoidosis; Prevalence; Vascular; Systemic.