Cardiac asystole masquerading as temporal lobe epilepsy
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Updated: Oct 23, 2026

Methods for ECG Evaluation of Indicators of Cardiac Risk, and Susceptibility to Aconitine-induced Arrhythmias in Rats Following Status Epilepticus
Published on: April 5, 2011
D M Ficker1, G D Cascino, I P Clements
1Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic Rochester, Minnesota 55905, USA.
Abstract:
Episodic behavior associated with impairment of consciousness is a protean clinical manifestation that may suggest a wide range of medical or neurologic disorders. We describe a patient whose symptoms of an epigastric "aura" followed by loss of consciousness suggested temporal lobe epilepsy. The episodic behavior was refractory to antiepileptic drug therapy. Prolonged video-electroencephalographic monitoring confirmed that the clinical events were cardiogenic related to asystole. Antiepileptic drug therapy was discontinued, and a cardiac pacemaker was inserted. The clinical patterns that distinguish syncope from seizures and the importance of prolonged video-electroencephalographic monitoring are discussed.
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