Cardiac Repolarization Indices in Epilepsy Patients

Objectives: Although epilepsy may be associated with an increased risk for sudden cardiac death, its effects on Q-T intervals has not been established. Methods: To determine whether changes in Q-T interval duration (QT(max c), QT(min c)) and dispersion (QT(D c)) occur in epileptic patients, we retrospectively studied 40 consecutive patients (age: 36.1 +/- 22.2 years) who have had a seizure disorder for 14.0 +/- 12.2 years and were seen in the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit, and 60 age-matched non-epileptic controls (age: 38.0 +/- 15.6 years). Q-T intervals were calculated from a single 12-lead ECG. Results: QT(max c) (425 +/- 30 vs. 410 +/- 36 ms, p = 0.040) and QT(D c) (63.1 +/- 22.4 vs. 31.0 +/- 17.2 ms, p = 0.000) were higher, and QT(min c) (362 +/- 36 vs. 379 +/- 33 ms, p = 0.040) was lower in epilepsy patients. QT(max c) was significantly correlated with disease duration (r = -0.35, p = 0.028) before, but not after age correction (r = -0.31, p = 0.053). Neither age nor reported recent seizure frequency was correlated with any repolarization index. Conclusions: QT(max c) and QT(D c) are higher in epilepsy patients as compared to control subjects. While Q-T interval appears to be related to disease duration, particularly over the early history of disease, it is unrelated to patient age or recent reported seizure frequency. Copyright (C) 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel