What causes sudden death in epilepsy?

Breathing changes: A seizure may cause a person to have pauses in breathing. If these pauses last too long, they can reduce the oxygen in the blood to a dangerous level. Also, if a person's airway gets blocked during a seizure, that can lead to suffocation.

What are the common causes of death in epilepsy?

Seizures cause most epilepsy-related deaths: drowning, car and bicycle accidents, aspiration pneumonia, alcohol withdrawal, status epilepticus, and SUDEP. Recent or frequent TCS are the most significant risk factors for SUDEP.

Which of the following individuals would be at highest risk of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy SUDEP )?

This means that sudden, unexpected death is more common among individuals with epilepsy when compared to infants or the general population. SUDEP accounts for 8–17% of deaths in people with epilepsy. The risk of sudden death in young adults with epilepsy is increased 20-40-fold compared to the general population.

Can epileptic seizures cause death?

The short answer is yes, but while possible, death from epilepsy is also rare. When you hear of someone dying from a seizure, you might assume the person fell and hit their head. This can happen. SUDEP, however, isn't caused by injury or drowning.

What triggers SUDEP?

The greatest risk factor for SUDEP is having tonic clonic seizures (grand mal). People with night time seizures may also be at higher risk. Missing medications or not taking seizure medicines as prescribed, because it can lead to more seizures, may also put people at higher risk for SUDEP.

Guideline: Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy - American Academy of Neurology

Who is at risk for SUDEP?

Currently, epilepsy and seizure severity factors including generalized tonic seizures (GTCS) are most commonly associated with SUDEP (1–4). In addition, studies suggest that antiepileptic drug (AED) therapy and, in particular, carbamazepine and lamotrigine may also contribute (2, 5) to the risk of SUDEP.

How do you prevent SUDEP?

The risk for SUDEP (sudden unexpected death in epilepsy) is higher in people with uncontrolled seizures. Thus, having as few seizures as possible, or ideally zero seizures, is the best way to lessen your risk and prevent SUDEP. Getting the "best care" you can for your seizures will help improve seizure control.

Can a seizure cause sudden death?

SUDEP is not well understood.

SUDEP stands for Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy. It refers to deaths in people with epilepsy that are not from injury, drowning, or other known causes. Most, but not all, cases of SUDEP happen during or right after a seizure.

Can you stop breathing during a seizure?

During the tonic phase of the seizure, they may temporarily stop breathing and their face may become dusky or blue, especially around the mouth. This period is usually brief (usually no more than 30 to 45 seconds) and does not require CPR.

What causes seizure before death?

In this population they can be due to primary or metastatic brain cancers, strokes, toxic/metabolic causes like hypoglycemia, or pre-existing epilepsy. The incidence of seizures in dying patients is unknown, and while likely uncommon, they can cause tremendous distress to patients and families.

What happens in the brain during epilepsy?

During a seizure, there is a sudden intense burst of electricity that disrupts how the brain usually works. This activity can happen on one small part of the brain and last for just a couple of seconds, or it can spread right across the brain and keep going for many minutes.

How long can a seizure last before brain damage?

A seizure that lasts longer than 5 minutes, or having more than 1 seizure within a 5 minutes period, without returning to a normal level of consciousness between episodes is called status epilepticus. This is a medical emergency that may lead to permanent brain damage or death.

Does epilepsy get worse with age?

The incidence of any type of seizure increases substantially over the age of 60, commonly due to other neurological conditions such as dementia or stroke.

Can your heart stop during a seizure?

The electrical activity in the brain during a seizure can also change our pulse and usually causes an increase in heart rate. However, during some seizures, the heart can slow or even stop temporarily, which is referred to as ictal asystole.

What is the life expectancy of a person with epilepsy?

Reduction in life expectancy can be up to 2 years for people with a diagnosis of idiopathic/cryptogenic epilepsy, and the reduction can be up to 10 years in people with symptomatic epilepsy. Reductions in life expectancy are highest at the time of diagnosis and diminish with time.

What is the mortality rate of epilepsy?

Results From 1999 to 2017, epilepsy mortality rates in the USA increased 98.8%, from 5.83 per million in 1999 to 11.59 per million (95% CI 88.2%–110.0%), while all-cause mortality declined 16.4% from 8756.34 per million to 7319.17 per million (95% CI 16.3% to 16.6%).

Why do lips turn blue during seizure?

Yes, people usually turn blue or red or purple (cyanosis) during a tonic-clonic seizure. This reflects the anoxia that is present (lack of oxygen). This anoxia acts as a stimulus to restart the breathing and needs no human intervention.

What are the dangers of epilepsy?

They can cause people to fall and hit their head or suffer a serious injury, too. There are longer term dangers, too. People with epilepsy often have memory problems, or emotional disorders like anxiety or depression, which can be quite disabling. Epilepsy can be devastating in terms of quality of life.

What's the difference between a seizure and a grand mal seizure?

A grand mal seizure causes a loss of consciousness and violent muscle contractions. It's the type of seizure most people picture when they think about seizures. A grand mal seizure — also known as a generalized tonic-clonic seizure — is caused by abnormal electrical activity throughout the brain.

What are the warning signs of epilepsy?

How likely is SUDEP?

SUDEP is the sudden, unexpected death of someone with epilepsy, who was otherwise healthy. In SUDEP cases, no other cause of death is found when an autopsy is done. Each year, more than 1 in 1,000 people with epilepsy die from SUDEP.

What food is good for seizures?

A low glycemic index diet focuses on foods with a low glycemic index, meaning they affect blood glucose levels slowly, if at all. Although it's not understood why, low blood glucose levels control seizures in some people. Foods on this diet include meat, cheese, and most high-fiber vegetables.

What causes sudden death?

drowning, falling, fire or other tragedy. undiagnosed advanced terminal illness, such as advanced cancer. sudden natural causes, such as heart attack, brain haemorrhage, or cot death. sudden death from a communicable disease such as COVID-19.

Is SUDEP hereditary?

Definite evidence has recently emerged concerning genetic susceptibility to SUDEP, suggesting a highly polygenic contribution [18]. A gene associated with SUDEP should include a definite pathogenic alteration that causes epilepsy, increasing SUDEP risk [12].

What percentage of epilepsy is genetic?

About 30 to 40 percent of epilepsy is caused by genetic predisposition. First-degree relatives of people with inherited epilepsy have a two- to four-fold increased risk for epilepsy.