Heart Attack In Older Adults Linked To Higher Risk Of Late-onset Epilepsy

Older adults who person a bosom onslaught whitethorn beryllium much apt to create epilepsy later successful life, according to a study published November 5, 2025 successful Neurology®, nan aesculapian diary of nan American Academy of Neurology. While nan study shows a nexus betwixt these conditions, it does not beryllium origin and effect.

In middle-aged and older adults, vascular illness tin block, weaken aliases constrictive humor vessels, and it often affects aggregate parts of nan assemblage astatine once. Our study recovered a first bosom onslaught whitethorn emblem cerebrovascular disease, a information that affects humor vessels successful nan brain, which whitethorn raise nan consequence of epilepsy."

Evan L. Thacker, PhD, study author of Brigham Young University successful Provo, Utah

The study included 3,174 adults who were stroke-free and had nary history of bosom onslaught aliases epilepsy astatine nan commencement of nan study. They had an mean property of 69 and were followed for up to 30 years.

During nan study, 296 group had a bosom attack, 120 developed late-onset epilepsy, which is epilepsy aft property 60, and 794 died of vascular causes different than stroke. Vascular causes included bosom onslaught arsenic good arsenic bosom failure, irregular heartbeat, pulmonary embolism-a humor clot successful nan lungs-and aortic aneurysm, a bulge successful nan main artery of nan heart.

For group who had a bosom attack, 7 group per 1,000 person-years later developed epilepsy compared to 2 group per 1,000 person-years who did not person a bosom attack. Person-years correspond some nan number of group successful nan study and nan magnitude of clip each personification spends successful nan study.

After adjusting for factors specified arsenic age, smoking and weight, researchers recovered aft a bosom attack, group were astir doubly arsenic apt to create late-onset epilepsy.

Researchers besides looked astatine whether group pinch late-onset epilepsy had an accrued consequence of past having a bosom attack, but recovered nary important association.

Researchers recovered that deaths from a vascular origin different than changeable occurred astatine a complaint of 99 deaths per 1,000 person-years aft a personification developed late-onset epilepsy compared to 16 per 1,000 personification years for group who ne'er developed epilepsy. After adjustments, group who developed late-life epilepsy were astir 3 times much apt to dice from a vascular cause.

"These findings item nan interconnectedness that bosom and vascular wellness whitethorn person pinch encephalon wellness successful later life," Thacker said. "When an older big has a bosom attack, clinicians whitethorn want to enactment alert for imaginable seizures later."

A limitation of nan study was that nan number of group who developed some conditions was small, which makes nan estimates little certain.

The study was supported by nan National Institutes of Health.