Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0018801 (heart failure)
 72,216 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

In summary, SUDEP accounts for death in approximately 8% of the young epileptic population. It is commoner in young male epileptics with a long history of generalised seizures, who have a history of head trauma and alcohol excess, and who are taking more than one antiepileptic drug. Most deaths are unwitnessed and occur at home, usually in bed and presumably overnight. Subtherapeutic AED levels do not necessarily imply non compliance, and may simply reflect drug degradation in the plasma after death. Many victims have pulmonary oedema on postmortem examination, and some show ischaemic damage of the heart despite normal coronary arteries. This possibly arises as a result of repeated episodes of vasoconstriction from seizure related catecholamine bursts. Animal studies have demonstrated the occurrence of central apnoea and also support the theory of acute fatal cardiac failure. Possible association with the daily level of geomagnetic activity is reported. The precise reason for a particular seizure being fatal in an otherwise healthy individual is as yet undetermined.
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PMID:Sudden unexpected deaths in epileptics--a literature review. 1062 8

Sudden unexplained death in epilepsy (SUDEP) is a common cause of death in patients with epilepsy, with cardiorespiratory dysfunction and a primary cessation of cerebral function proposed as causes. We report two cases of SUDEP in patients with intractable temporal lobe epilepsy undergoing video-EEG (electroencephalography) telemetry at two centers. Both had secondarily generalized convulsions. EEG, electrocardiography (ECG), and respiratory changes in these two patients are reported herein. Ictal/postictal hypoventilation may contribute to SUDEP with the resulting hypoxemia and acidosis leading to failure of recovery of cortical function and eventual cardiac failure.
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PMID:Ictal hypoventilation contributes to cardiac arrhythmia and SUDEP: report on two deaths in video-EEG-monitored patients. 2013 91

Sudden cardiac death can occur after exposure to extreme stress and sometimes as a complication of acute neurologic disease. Excessive adrenergic stimulation of the heart is most likely the responsible mechanism for the majority of cases of sudden cardiac death. The neurocardiogenic injury induced by sympathetic overstimulation can affect the myocardium and the electrical conduction system, leading to heart failure and arrhythmias. The characteristic features of stress cardiomyopathy (also known as takotsubo cardiomyopathy or apical ballooning syndrome) can be diagnosed by echocardiography and cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging. This chapter reviews the history, definition, pathophysiology, triggers, and clinical manifestations of neurocardiogenic injury. It also discusses specific neurologic conditions associated with sudden death: epilepsy (sudden unexplained death in epilepsy, SUDEP) and stroke.
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PMID:Sudden cardiac death. 2436 85