This study was designed to assess the epidemiology, characteristics, and outcome of cardiac sarcoidosis (CS) in Finland.
We identified in retrospect all adult (>18 years of age) patients diagnosed with histologically confirmed CS in Finland between 1988 and 2012. A total of 110 patients (71 women) 51±9 years of age (mean±SD) were found and followed up for outcome events to the end of 2013. The annual detection rate of CS increased >20-fold during the 25-year period, reaching 0.31 in 1×10(5) adults between 2008 and 2012. The 2012 prevalence of CS was 2.2 in 1×10(5). Nearly two thirds of patients had clinically isolated CS. Altogether, 102 of the 110 patients received immunosuppressive therapy, and 56 received an intracardiac defibrillator. Left ventricular function was impaired (ejection fraction