Mayo Clinic researchers have found that cardiac pacing may help epilepsy patients with seizure-related falls due to ictal asystole, a condition in which heart stops beating during epileptic seizure.
For the study, researchers identified seven patients who were diagnosed with ictal asystole and had a history of falls associated with it, before receiving cardiac pacemakers 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 per month, and following implantation, it decreased to 0.005 falls per months.
In addition, three of the seven patients required less seizure medication after receiving their implants.