Sudden unexpected death in an adolescent with epilepsy: All roads lead to the heart?

Kylvia G.F.D. Pinto; Fulvio A. Scorza; Ricardo M. Arida; Esper A. Cavalheiro; Luciana D. Martins; Helio R. Machado; Américo C. Sakamoto; Vera C. Terra

doi:10.5603/cj.21274

Vol 18, No 2 (2011)

Case Reports

Submitted: 2013-01-14

Published online: 2011-03-10

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Sudden unexpected death in an adolescent with epilepsy: All roads lead to the heart?

Kylvia G.F.D. Pinto, Fulvio A. Scorza, Ricardo M. Arida, Esper A. Cavalheiro, Luciana D. Martins, Helio R. Machado, Américo C. Sakamoto, Vera C. Terra

DOI: 10.5603/cj.21274

Cardiol J 2011;18(2):194-196.

Vol 18, No 2 (2011)

Case Reports

Submitted: 2013-01-14

Published online: 2011-03-10

Abstract

The incidence of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) has been estimated from 0.5-1.4/1,000 person-years in people with treated epilepsy, and 9/1,000 person-years in candidates for epilepsy surgery. Potential risk factors for SUDEP include: age, early onset of epilepsy, duration of epilepsy, uncontrolled seizures, seizure type and winter temperatures. The arrythmogenic side-effect of antiepileptic drugs and seizures may increase the risk of SUDEP. In this report, we describe a patient with prolonged post-ictal tachycardia in EEG video recordings with a typical case of SUDEP: a 16-year-old boy with medically intractable complex partial seizures. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed left mesial temporal sclerosis. During non-invasive video-EEG monitoring, the patient presented a post-ictal heart rate increased for five hours. Two months after video-EEG, he died from SUDEP during a tonic-clonic secondary generalized seizure. The possibility of cardiac involvement in the pathogenesis of SUDEP has been suggested by many studies. Evaluation of this patient with EEG-video monitoring, including measurement of heart rate, contributed to an identification of ictal tachycardia that may have played a role in the SUDEP. Premature mortality seems to be increased in patients with epilepsy, and cardiac abnormalities may be a possible cause of SUDEP. (Cardiol J 2011; 18, 2: 194-196)