P-wave dispersion doesn't increase in patients with epilepsy

Epileptic seizures have occasionally been associated with cardiac conditions as atrioventricular blocks, long QT syndrome etc. P-wave dispersion (PWD), which is the difference between the longest (P max) and shortest P-wave duration (P min), is considered as a forerunner of atrial fibrillation. In this study, we investigated P-wave dispersion (PWD) in epileptic patients; based on the hypothesis that microthromboembolism may occur in atrial fibrillation.

Seventy five patients with mixed types of epilepsy and 50 age and sex matched healthy individuals were included into the study. P max, P min and PWD values were calculated for each subject from an ECG.

The mean age of subjects in the epilepsy group and control group were similar (p>0.05). P max in patients with epilepsy was 125.1±0.7 ms, P min was 67.3±10.3 ms, and PWD was 57.6±8.3 ms while these values in the control group were 116.8±11.0 ms, 66.5±5.5 ms and 46.8±7.1 ms, respectively. There were no statistically significant difference between two groups (p>0.05).

PWD does not increase in patients with mixed types of epilepsy. Therefore we believe that microthromboembolism due to atrial fibrillation can't cause epileptic seizures in patients with no structural heart disease.