Interictal heart rate in patients with epilepsy

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Cardiology
• Clinical Electrophysiology

Background:

• Epilepsy is associated with electrocardiographic (ECG) abnormalities linked to autonomic nervous system dysfunction.
• Patients with epilepsy face an elevated risk of sudden unexpected death, with cardiac arrhythmias being a probable cause.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess heart rate (HR) on ECG during the interictal period in epilepsy patients.
• To investigate the relationship between HR, electroencephalography (EEG) findings, and antiepileptic drug (AED) treatment in newly diagnosed and previously treated epilepsy.

Main Methods:

• Fifty epilepsy patients were studied: 22 newly diagnosed and untreated (NTP), 28 treated for over 2 years (TP).
• Resting ECG and EEG were performed on all participants.

Main Results:

• The treated patient (TP) group exhibited significantly higher HR (80±13 bpm) than the non-treated patient (NTP) group (67±15 bpm).
• A trend towards higher HR was noted in patients on polytherapy, carbamazepine, or with right-hemisphere epileptic foci.

Conclusions:

• A correlation exists between brain bioelectric activity disorders and cardiac function in epilepsy.
• Periodic ECG monitoring is crucial for epilepsy patients to detect potential cardiac issues.