Mayo Clinic researchers in the US have found that cardiac pacing may help epilepsy patients with seizure-related falls caused due to ictal asystole, a condition in which the heart stops beating during an epileptic seizure.
In 1% of the epilepsy patients, seizures can lead to the heart stopping for a brief period of time, during which no blood flows to the brain causing the patient to collapse and fall.
For the study, researchers identified seven patients with ictal asystole and a history of associated falls, before receiving a cardiac pacemaker at Mayo Clinic.
Researchers found that the rate of injury and falls decreased after the patients received pacemakers.
Before implantation, the average fall rate among the patients was more than three falls a month, and following implantation, it decreased to 0.005 falls a months.
In addition, three of the seven patients required less seizure medication after receiving their implants.
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