Our Sarcoidosis Program brings together medical experts from 11 specialties to provide a comprehensive treatment plan for you.

You’ll find:

• Shared clinics that let you see many specialists in one visit.
• Experts who offer the latest treatments in heart, lung and autoimmune disease care.
• Advanced imaging techniques that can detect sarcoidosis anywhere in your body.

Our excellence

Sarcoidosis can affect many parts of your body. Our team coordinates your care across each of the medical specialties you need. Your team may include doctors who are experts in:

• Cardiology (heart), including advanced heart failure, electrophysiology (arrhythmia) and noninvasive cardiac imaging
• Dermatology (skin, tissue)
• Gastroenterology (digestive system)
• Neurology (brain, spinal cord and nerves)
• Pulmonology (lungs)
• Ophthalmology (eyes)
• Rheumatology (joints, autoimmune diseases)
• Thoracic radiology (chest imaging)

Fewer visits with shared clinics

The experts caring for you work together to make your experience with us as seamless as possible.

Lung and autoimmune disease clinic: Sarcoidosis most often affects the lungs. The most common treatment for sarcoidosis is medication that affects the immune system. You can see lung and autoimmune disease specialists in one combined clinic visit.

Heart and arrhythmia clinic: If sarcoidosis affects your heart, you can see all the heart specialists you need in one visit. Our team includes a general cardiologist, an advanced heart failure specialist and a heart rhythm specialist.

What is sarcoidosis?

In sarcoidosis disease, tiny clumps of immune system cells called “granulomas” form in organs in the body. When these cells clump together, they can change how an organ works or even damage it.

Sarcoidosis most often affects the lungs and lymph nodes. Some people with sarcoidosis have issues with other organs, the nervous system, skin or joints. Some people get sarcoidosis in their hearts, which can be dangerous if not treated.

There is no cure but sarcoidosis treatment can help with symptoms. Some mild cases may go away on their own.

Who gets sarcoidosis?

Sarcoidosis is a rare disease. Less than 200,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with sarcoidosis each year. We don’t know the underlying cause of sarcoidosis but research suggests both genetic and environmental factors may be involved.

Risk factors include:

• Age: People ages 20 to 40 are most likely to develop sarcoidosis.
• Sex: Sarcoidosis is more common in women.
• Race: People of African and Scandinavian descent are more likely to have sarcoidosis.
• Family history: If a family member has sarcoidosis, you may be more at risk.

Sarcoidosis symptoms

The most common general symptoms are fatigue, swollen lymph nodes, weight loss, and joint pain and swelling. Some people have no symptoms. Other symptoms depend on the part of the body that is affected.

• Lung symptoms are the most common: dry cough, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, chest pain
• Heart: chest pain, fainting, shortness of breath, fatigue, arrhythmia (irregular heart beat), palpitations (rapid heart beat), edema (swelling caused by fluid)
• Skin: rash on the shins or ankles, sores or growths (nodules)
• Eyes: blurry vision, eye pain or itchiness, severe redness, light sensitivity

Sarcoidosis can also cause symptoms in other parts of the body including your nervous system, muscles, bones and joints, lymph nodes and other organs.

Diagnosing sarcoidosis

Many of the symptoms of sarcoidosis are like those of other diseases. Our team uses physical exams, advanced imaging, tissue biopsies and other studies to find a diagnosis. Our sarcoid physicians from several specialties come together to make a confident and accurate diagnosis.

Treatment for sarcoidosis

If you have mild sarcoidosis, you may need close monitoring without any treatment.

For moderate or severe cases, we offer treatment to control symptoms and prevent complications. The most common treatments are medications that help calm your immune system. This will stop or slow the growth of sarcoid granulomas.

For patients whose organs have been severely damaged by sarcoidosis, we may consider a lung or heart transplant.

Our sarcoidosis team

The doctors, nurses and other providers in the OHSU Sarcoidosis Program work together across departments to give patients the most advanced care possible.