Heart
Sarcoidosis in your heart is usually treated with steroids. You may also be given heart medicines to improve your heart's pumping ability or to correct a disturbed heart rhythm.
If you have a severe heart rhythm disturbance, your doctor may prescribe one of these devices:
- A cardiac pacemaker -- a small, battery-operated device, often put under your skin, that regulates your heartbeat
- A defibrillator -- an implanted device that shocks your heart into a normal heartbeat or, if it has stopped, into beating
- If your heart is severely affected and doesn't respond to sarcoidosis treatment, a transplant may be done, but this is rarely needed.
Lupus Pernio
This rash on your face, especially when on your cheeks and nose, can be distressing because it's in a very visible area. It often occurs with a loss of your sense of smell, nasal stuffiness, and sinus infections.
Lupus pernio is often treated by dermatologists, doctors who specialize in skin diseases, working together with a sarcoidosis specialist.
Other Sarcoidosis Treatment Options
Additional options for sarcoidosis treatment include:
- Local treatment with skin creams
- Oral medicines (Plaquenil or prednisone, for example)
- Local injections of steroid preparations.
Because sarcoidosis varies so much among patients, your doctor may find it hard to tell whether the treatment is helping.
(Click Sarcoidosis Research for information about other medicines being studied as possible sarcoidosis treatments.)
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