Photo Credit: Tunatura
In a recent study published in European Journal of Neurology, Josephine Mayer, MBChB, MRes, and colleagues assessed cardiovascular comorbidity and incident vascular events in people with epilepsy versus those without epilepsy. Using data from the French Hospital National Database, the researchers matched 682,349 people with epilepsy with an equal number of controls based on age, sex, and year of hospitalization. Follow-up was conducted from the first hospitalization with epilepsy until the date of each outcome or, in the absence of outcomes, the date of last news. Epilepsy diagnoses were associated with more cardiovascular risk factors and adverse events. People with epilepsy also exhibited higher incidence rates of all-cause death (incidence rate ratio [IRR], 2.69, 95% CI, 2.67-2.72), cardiovascular death (IRR, 2.16, 95% CI, 2.11-2.20), heart failure (IRR, 1.26, 95% CI, 1.25-1.28), ischemic stroke (IRR, 2.08, 95% CI, 2.04-2.13), ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation (IRR, 1.10, 95% CI, 1.04-1.16), and cardiac arrest (IRR, 2.12, 95% CI, 2.04-2.20). After adjusting for all-cause death as a competing risk, researchers found that people with epilepsy had significantly higher risks of ischemic stroke (HR, 1.59, 95% CI, 1.55-1.63) and cardiac arrest (HR, 1.73, 95% CI, 1.58-1.89). The study team concluded that physicians should consider proactive measures to manage cardiovascular health in people with epilepsy, potentially reducing morbidity and mortality in this patient population.
