[The value of endomyocardial biopsy in verifying the diagnosis of sarcoidosis of the heart].

The evaluation of the results of myocardial biopsy specimens of 24 patients highly suspected of having myocardial sarcoidosis revealed a sarcoid granuloma only in one case. In tapering frequency (60-33%) there has been myocardial scarring, generalized fibrosis, pathological count of mononuclear cells, nuclear hypertrophy, and perivascular fibrosis which all yield unspecific results, but because of lack of another cause are related to sarcoidosis. The specimens of 8 patients have been normal. In contrast to communications in the literature, we cannot recommend endomyocardial biopsy as a routine method to establish heart sarcoidosis, but as a method to exclude other myocardial processes.