Support for Sarcoidosis

In most people with sarcoidosis, symptoms resolve without treatment, and the condition disappears within a few weeks. A small number of people, however, require extensive medical therapy and outpatient monitoring every one to three months. Depending on the severity of the condition, treatment can last anywhere from a few months to a couple of years.

A small percentage of people with sarcoidosis may experience permanent lung damage and may need to be considered for lung transplantation. Rarely, some may have irreversible deterioration of other organs, such as the eye, which could lead to vision changes, or the heart, which could result in heart failure.

Our doctors at NYU Langone’s Sarcoidosis Program offer several support services to help manage and treat sarcoidosis. Follow-up appointments enable your doctor to assess your progress and monitor any changes in your symptoms. Your doctor may order regular imaging tests to evaluate your health, even after treatment is over. Relapses can occur, but are rare.

Smoking Cessation

Doctors strongly discourage people with pulmonary sarcoidosis from smoking because it can exacerbate the condition’s effects on your lungs, causing breathing problems. NYU Langone’s Tobacco Cessation Programs can help you quit.

Pulmonary Rehabilitation

If sarcoidosis causes permanent lung scarring, you may experience chest pain, difficulty breathing, coughing, and progressive fatigue and weakness. NYU Langone’s Rusk Rehabilitation offers pulmonary rehabilitation that can help address these symptoms.

After an evaluation by a rehabilitation doctor, Rusk Rehabilitation specialists provide you with an individualized rehabilitation exercise program, which is supervised by a physical therapist or exercise physiologist. The goal is to help you overcome any physical and functional limitations and enhance your ability to perform everyday activities.

Cardiac Rehabilitation

Some people with cardiac sarcoidosis may require outpatient cardiac rehabilitation to help them regain their strength, improve their cardiovascular health, and prevent future cardiac events.

The outpatient cardiac rehabilitation program at NYU Langone’s Joan and Joel Smilow Cardiac Prevention and Rehabilitation Center is a 12-week program that aims to help you feel and function better in your everyday life.