Risk of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in patients with sarcoidosis: a Danish nationwide nested case–control study

Objective Sarcoidosis is over-represented among victims of cardiac arrest. We aimed to establish whether sarcoidosis is associated with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) in the general population. Methods We conducted a nested case–control study in a nationwide cohort of individuals between 1 June 2001 and 31 December 2015 in Denmark. OHCA cases from presumed cardiac causes were matched 1:10 by sex and age on OHCA date with non-OHCA controls from the general population. The association between sarcoidosis and OHCA was assessed using Cox regression by calculating HR and 95% CIs. Models were adjusted for cardiovascular disease. Finally, stratified analyses were performed according to sex, heart failure and ischaemic heart disease. RESULTS: We identified 35 195 OHCA cases and 351 950 matched controls without OHCA (median age 72 years and 66.8% male). Patients with sarcoidosis had higher rate of OHCA compared with the general population after adjustments for common OHCA risk factors (HR 1.51, 95% CI 1.19 to 1.92). This increased OHCA rate occurred in women (HR 2.11, 95% CI 1.42 to 3.12) but not in men (HR 1.27, 95% CI 0.93 to 1.72; p value interaction=0.033), and was larger in patients with than without heart failure (HR(heart failure): 2.59, 95% CI 1.42 to 4.73; HR(no heart failure): 1.33, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.74; p value interaction: 0.007). The HR associated with sarcoidosis did not vary by the presence of ischaemic heart disease. CONCLUSION: Patients with sarcoidosis have a higher OHCA rate than the general population. This increased OHCA rate occurred in women but not in men, and was larger in patients with than without heart failure.