[Ictal asystolia in the differential diagnosis of dizziness].
Frequently, epileptic seizures are accompanied by changes in the heart rate. They are usually transient and irrelevant for the patient's symptoms and the patient recorders his usually baseline rhythm in second or a few minutes. In this report we present a case of a patient diagnosed previously of epilepsy who presented episodes of dizziness and presyncope. During the video-EEG study we recorded one of these spells. The diagnosis of this spell was a focal seizure associated with asystole: the seizure was almost asymptomatic, and only when the asystole developed (40 seconds after the EEG ictal changes) the patient complained about dizziness. Recovery was fast, but treatment with pacemaker must be considered.
Iriarte
J
J
Unidad de Epilepsia, Departamento de Neurología, Clínica Universitaria de Navarra, Pamplona. jiriarte@unav.es
Urrestarazu
E
E
Alegre
M
M
Artieda
J
J
Viteri
C
C
D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004244:Dizziness / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006323:Heart Arrest / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged