Approximately 1% of the population has epilepsy, the most common neurological disorder. Moreover, people with epilepsy are more likely to die prematurely than those without epilepsy, and the most common epilepsy-related category of death is sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP). Information concerning risk factors for SUDEP is conflicting, but potential risk factors include: age, early onset of epilepsy, duration of epilepsy, uncontrolled seizures, seizure frequency, number of antiepileptic drugs and winter temperatures. Additionally, the cause of SUDEP is still unknown; however, the most commonly suggested mechanisms are cardiac abnormalities during and between seizures. This review discusses the epidemiology, risk factors, etiology, and preventative measures in the management of SUDEP.

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It is thought that cardiovascular changes may contribute to sudden death in patients with epilepsy. To examine cardiovascular alterations that occur during epileptogenesis, we measured the heart rate of rats submitted to the electrical amygdala kindling model. Heart rate was recorded before, during, and after the induced seizures. Resting heart rate was increased in stages 1, 3, and 5 as compared with the unstimulated control condition. In the initial one third of the seizures, we observed bradycardia, which increased in intensity with increasing stage and was blocked by injecting methyl atropine. During stage 5 seizures, a rebound tachycardia was observed that also increased in intensity with increasing number of seizures. This study demonstrated the influence of seizure frequency on cardiac autonomic modulation, providing a basis for discussion of potential mechanisms that cause patients with epilepsy to die suddenly.

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-Of the many risk factors suggested for sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP), higher frequency of seizures is a very consistent issue. Following this reasoning, it has been established that hemodialysis-associated seizure is a complication of dialysis procedure. Based on these facts, this study investigated a possible association between cardiovascular abnormalities and SUDEP among patients with chronic renal insufficiency in regular hemodialysis program. For that, a retrospective medical history of 209 patients was reviewed to investigate the occurrence of convulsive seizures and EKG abnormalities during dialytic program. Three patients presented generalized tonic-clonic seizures, one had partial seizure with secondary generalization, and one presented unclassified seizure. Any EKG abnormalities and SUDEP event were found in all patients evaluated. In conclusion, the present findings demonstrated uncommon the occurrence of seizures and also SUDEP. Probably, the main justification to not allow us to demonstrated a direct relation between SUDEP and cardiovascular diseases in hemodialysis are the reduced number of cases examined.KEy wOrDS: epilepsy, sudden death, heart, seizure, hemodialysis.Existe algo de especial a respeito das anormalidades cardíacas e morte súbita e inesperada na epilepsia nos pacientes com insuficiência renal crônica no programa regular de hemodiálise?Resumo -Um dos principais fatores de risco para a morte súbita e inesperada na epilepsia (SUDEP) é a alta freqüência de crises epilépticas. Seguindo este raciocínio, tem sido estabelecido que as crises epilépticas associadas à hemodiálise seja uma complicação do procedimento dialítico. Baseado neste fato, este estudo investigou uma possível associação entre anormalidades cardiovasculares e SUDEP nos pacientes com insuficiência renal crônica em um programa regular de hemodiálise. Para isto, um histórico médico retrospectivo de 209 pacientes foi revisado para avaliar a ocorrência de crises epilépticas e possíveis anormalidades no ECG durante o programa de diálise. Três pacientes apresentaram crises tônico-clonica generalizadas, um apresentou crise parcial com generalização secundária e um apresentou crise não-classificada. Não detectamos anormalidades no ECG e ocorrência de SUDEP em todos os pacientes avaliados. Em conclusão, na presente amostra constatou-se como rara a ocorrência de crises epilépticas e SUDEP. Provavelmente, o número reduzido de casos avaliados tenha sido responsável pela não observação de uma relação direta entre SUDEP e as doenças cardiovasculares na hemodiálise.