Ictal asystole
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Ictal asystole (IA) is a rare occurrence for patients that have temporal lobe epilepsy.[1] It can often be identified by loss of muscle tone or the presence of bilateral asymmetric jerky limb movements and the lack of heart activity during a seizure, although ECG monitoring is necessary to provide a firm result.[2][3] Ictal asystole and ictal bradycardia can cause an epileptic patient to die suddenly.[4]
Ictal asystole is a rare condition and is more common to show up than other heart issues like ictal atrioventricular block and IB. Ictal asystole can cause higher risks of sudden falls, severe injuries and being unresponsive.[5][6] Most cases have stated that the temporal lobe or insular epilepsy in the brain can affect the heart and this causes the heart to slow down or stop completely. [7]
Causes
The causes of ictal asystole are associated with temporal and frontal lobe seizures. During a seizure, the brain activity can react in a way that affects the heart rate to slow down or stop for several seconds. Having ictal asystole long-term can cause cerebral anoxic ischemia.[8] The cause of ictal asystole comes from the temporal lobe epilepsy.[9] In the early stages of epilepsy, men are more likely to get ictal asystole earlier. The delay between epilepsy onset and ictal asystole onset is longer for women as to getting ictal asystole later on after they experience epilepsy.[10] This means they are more likely to have ictal asystole later while they still have epilepsy. [11]