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Sarcoidosis is a disease characterized mainly by swollen lymph nodes throughout the body.
From a paper published last January in JAMA Ophthalmology:
Among 249 patients with uveitis, 33 had possible sarcoidosis, and 9 of them
had an abnormal electrocardiogram.
Four patients (average age 67) had cardiac sarcoidosis
with ventricular tachycardia, and an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) was indicated.
An eye disease can lead to the discovery of a heart condition that carries a risk of sudden death.
JAMA Ophthalmol. 2018;136(2):109-115.
(From my own past experience) One patient came in with floaters and was diagnosed with uveitis. Based on the pattern of eye inflammation, I suspected sarcoidosis and referred the patient to a nearby internist, and tests at a core hospital confirmed sarcoidosis. The patient went on to receive a pacemaker for cardiac sarcoidosis. It stays with me as a good example of how the eye can reveal a systemic disease.
