title: Convulsive Syncope Induced by Ventricular Arrhythmia Masquerading as Epileptic Seizures: Case Report and Literature Review.
abstract: It is important but difficult to distinguish convulsive syncope from epileptic seizure in many patients. We report a case of a man who presented to emergency department after several witnessed seizure-like episodes. He had a previous medical history of systolic heart failure and automated implantable converter defibrillator (AICD) in situ. The differential diagnoses raised were epileptic seizures and convulsive syncope secondary to cardiac arrhythmia. Subsequent AICD interrogation revealed ventricular tachycardia and fibrillation (v-tach/fib). Since convulsive syncope and epileptic seizure share many similar clinical features, early diagnosis is critical for choosing the appropriate management and preventing sudden cardiac death in patients with presumed epileptic seizure.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY 11203, USA.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sabu
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Raritan Bay Medical Center, Perth Amboy, NJ 08861, USA.
authors.forename: Kalyani
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Regeti
authors.affiliation: Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY 11203, USA.
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mallappallil
authors.affiliation: Clinical cardiac electrophysiology, Department of Medicine, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY 11203, USA.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kassotis
authors.affiliation: Sayreville War Memorial High School, Parlin, NJ 08859, USA.
authors.forename: Hamidul
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Islam
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Raritan Bay Medical Center, Perth Amboy, NJ 08861, USA.
authors.forename: Shoaib
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zafar
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Raritan Bay Medical Center, Perth Amboy, NJ 08861, USA.
authors.forename: Rafay
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Raritan Bay Medical Center, Perth Amboy, NJ 08861, USA.
authors.forename: Hiyam
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ibrahim
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Raritan Bay Medical Center, Perth Amboy, NJ 08861, USA.
authors.forename: Romana
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kanta
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Raritan Bay Medical Center, Perth Amboy, NJ 08861, USA.
authors.forename: Shuvendu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sen
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Raritan Bay Medical Center, Perth Amboy, NJ 08861, USA.
authors.forename: Abdalla
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yousif
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Raritan Bay Medical Center, Perth Amboy, NJ 08861, USA.
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Nai
keywords: Arrhythmia; Convulsion; Epilepsy; Seizure; Syncope