Detecting Cardiac Sarcoidosis with a Right Atrial Mass Using Transthoracic Echocardiography

Intern Med. 2016;55(4):359-63. doi: 10.2169/internalmedicine.55.5423. Epub 2016 Feb 15.

Abstract

An asymptomatic 40-year-old woman with a first-degree atrioventricular block presented a right atrial mass in transthoracic echocardiograms. Transesophageal echocardiograms showed abnormally thickened tissue on the interatrial septum, which extended around the aortic annulus. Multimodality examinations demonstrated lesions in the heart, lungs, liver, and spleen, suggesting sarcoidosis. She was diagnosed with cardiac sarcoidosis after we detected granulomas in a lung specimen. A right atrial mass shrunk following steroid therapy. We should therefore consider the possibility of cardiac sarcoidosis when we see wall thickening and a mass echo in the atrium. These signs may point to an early-phase lesion of cardiac sarcoidosis.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Anti-Inflammatory Agents / administration & dosage*
  • Atrioventricular Block / complications
  • Atrioventricular Block / diagnostic imaging
  • Atrioventricular Block / pathology*
  • Cardiomyopathies / diagnosis*
  • Cardiomyopathies / drug therapy
  • Echocardiography*
  • Female
  • Heart Atria / diagnostic imaging
  • Heart Atria / pathology*
  • Humans
  • Prednisolone / administration & dosage*
  • Sarcoidosis / diagnosis*
  • Sarcoidosis / drug therapy
  • Treatment Outcome

Substances

  • Anti-Inflammatory Agents
  • Prednisolone