Circulation, Vol 56, 320-326, Copyright © 1977 by American Heart Association
TN James
Postmortem findings within the cardiac conduction system are described from
the case of a black woman with sarcoid heart disease who died suddenly. Her
clinical course had been characterized by recurring ventricular arrhythmias
and bouts of syncope. Both the sinus node artery and the atrioventricular
(A-V) node artery were sites of focal fibromuscular dysplasia, which
thickened slightly the wall of the former but markedly narrowed the lumen
of the latter. Small foci of sarcoid infiltration were present in the sinus
node and the A-V node. Fatty replacement within the His bundle was
attributable to the probable ischemia caused by narrowing of the A-V node
artery. Sarcoid granulomata and infiltration with epithelioid cells were
present throughout the ventricular myocardium, but were conspicuously less
prevalent in the atria. All the large coronary arteries were normal. Many
small coronary arteries in the ventricular myocardium were involved by the
sarcoidosis and their lumen were narrowed. These findings and analogous
ones reported by others are discussed relative to the pathogenesis of
syncopal attacks and sudden death which seem to peculiarly prevalent in
sarcoid heart disease.
ARTICLES
Clinicopathologic correlations. De subitaneis mortibus. XXV. Sarcoid heart disease
This article has been cited by other articles:
 |
|
 |
|
  F.J. Venditti and E.J. Mark Case 16-1995- A 35-year-old man with dilated cardiomyopathy, repeated ventricular tachycardia, and pulmonary lesions N. Engl. J. Med., May 25, 1995; 332(21): 1432 - 1438. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|