Cardiac arrhythmias in the differential diagnosis of epilepsy

Symptomatic attacks or seizures associated with cardiac arrhythmias may cause difficulty in differential diagnosis. Two patients are reported in whom disturbances of cardiac conduction induced attacks which clinically resembled attacks of psychogenic and epileptic origin and were abolished after implantation of a demand-type pacemaker. A third patient is described who had epileptic seizures resulting in cardiac arrhythmias. In the differential diagnosis of these cases, simultaneous ambulatory EEG and ECG recording was essential.