Hypertension and other vascular risk factors in patients with functional seizures

Epilepsy Behav. 2024 Jan 25;152:109650. doi: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2024.109650. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTOBJECTIVE: Recent literature has suggested that functional seizures are associated with an elevated risk for vascular disease and mortality. We investigated the prevalence of risk factors for vascular disease in patients who were admitted to the epilepsy monitoring unit.METHODS: Patients who were admitted to the epilepsy monitoring unit and received a definitive diagnosis of either functional seizures or epilepsy were identified. Data collected included demographic, clinical characteristics, medication list, comorbidities, and scheduled blood pressure measurements that occurred every 12 h during the admission. The mean blood pressures were calculated and if they were above the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association guideline cutoff of 130/80 mm Hg or the patient had a documented history of hypertension the patient was counted as having the condition. A multiple logistic regression model was developed to evaluate the independent association of the patient's diagnosis (i.e., epilepsy or functional seizures) and vascular risk factors that controlled for the number of blood pressure measurements, age, sex, and if the patient was taking antihypertensive medications.RESULTS: 270 patients were included in this study of which 147 patients had epilepsy and 123 had functional seizures. Among those with functional seizures, 57.72 % had either a history of hy...
Source: Epilepsy and Behaviour - Category: Neurology Authors: Source Type: research