Seizures After Stroke

Abstract

SEIZURES secondary to stroke have been recognized for many years and are considered by some authorities as a major cause of epilepsy in the elderly.¹ Although the frequency of seizures after stroke is variously estimated at 4% to 10%,^2-9 many of these data were based on retrospective studies with variable follow-up, often without computed tomographic (CT) confirmation of the lesion, or on patient numbers so small that no reliable statistical analysis was possible. Often included were patients with arteriovenous malformations, brainstem strokes, subarachnoid hemorrhage, or a previous history of seizures or epilepsy. Previous assumptions such as seizures being more frequent in cerebral hemorrhage^4,10 or cardioembolic stroke^2,3,11 are not reliably evidence based.