Unstructed Abstract
This is the first study to investigate the impact of the corticosteroids therapy on the efficacy of an upgrade to cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) therapy in patients with cardiac sarcoidosis (CS). The echocardiographic response to an upgrade to CRT was lower in patients with CS than in those with other etiologies of non-ischemic cardiomyopathy. The patients with CS who had taken corticosteroids before the upgrade to CRT (group 1) demonstrated the lowest echocardiographic response. However, the cumulative freedom from hospitalizations from worsening heart failure and cardiovascular death did not significant differ between patients with CS and those with other etiologies. Especially, group 1 patients presented with the lowest rate of cardiovascular death and heart failure hospitalizations.