Early seizure termination in ictal asystole

To evaluate the association between cerebral hypoperfusion and seizure termination, we compared seizure duration in seven patients with syncopal ictal asystole (IA), seven with non-syncopal ictal bradycardia, and ten with non-bradycardic seizures. Mean seizure duration was 34.4±13 s in IA, 67±28.9 s in ictal bradycardia, and 82.1±31.1 in non-bradycardic seizures. These were significantly different (ANOVA, p<0.02). This suggests cerebral hypoxia-ischemia favors seizure termination.