Abstract
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<sub>max c</sub>, QT<sub>min c</sub>) and dispersion (QT<sub>D c</sub>) 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<sub>max c</sub> (425 ± 30 vs. 410 ± 36 ms, p = 0.040) and QT<sub>D c</sub> (63.1 ± 22.4 vs. 31.0 ± 17.2 ms, p = 0.000) were higher, and QT<sub>min c</sub> (362 ± 36 vs. 379 ± 33 ms, p = 0.040) was lower in epilepsy patients. QT<sub>max c</sub> 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<sub>max c</sub> and QT<sub>D c</sub> 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.
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