[Bradycardia as an epileptic manifestation in temporal epilepsy: report of a case]

We describe a patient who had cardiac arrhythmia as epileptic manifestation. In a 34-year-old woman who had many episodes of loss of consciousness, the simultaneous ECG and video-EEG monitoring recorded bradycardia with a short episode of asystole (4 seconds) and left temporal rhythmic theta activity on EEG. MRI showed a small mass lesion in the left parahippocampal gyrus. Alterations in cardiac rhythm have been reported in epileptic seizures and tachycardia is the most common finding associated with them; bradyarrhythmia during seizures was uncommon. Many interconnections among insular cortex, limbic system and hypothalamus, may be responsible for vegetative manifestations in temporal lobe epilepsy.