Article, originally published in Seizure – European Journal of Epilepsy
Researchers quantified the risk of stroke following epileptic seizures in this case-control analysis based on Swedish national registers. From the Swedish Stroke Register, they selected cases ≤100 years of age with a first-ever stroke from 2001-2009. They used the Population Register to identify stroke-free controls (matched for age and gender). This study involved a total of 123,105 stroke cases and 250,506 controls. Epileptic seizures prior to index stroke date were detected in 1,559 (1.27%) cases and 1,806 (0.72%) controls. An elevated risk of subsequent stroke was observed in relation to a history of epileptic seizures. The risk appeared to be especially high in the first year after seizure diagnosis; this finding lends support to the notion that unexplained late-onset seizures may merit prompt evaluation of vascular risk profile. Further inquiry is needed for the nature of stroke prevention.