Seizures after age 60 may signal higher stroke risk

People whose first epileptic seizure occurs after age 60 appear to be at an increased risk of stroke.

That association turned up when British researchers compared more than 4,700 people who had suffered unexplained seizures beginning or after turning 60 with a similar-size group of people with no history of seizures, stroke, dementia or other brain disease.

Researchers from the University of Manchester in England, the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London and Gartnavel General Hospital in Glasgow, Scotland, found that people in the seizure group had nearly triple the risk of subsequently suffering a stroke than those in the comparison group.

The findings were published in the April 10 issue of the Lancet.

Although the number of older people who suffer strokes far exceeds those who suffer seizures without a known cause, the findings suggest that doctors should assess stroke risks and consider preventive treatments in older patients who have had a seizure, Dr. Cathie L.M. Sudlow, a University of Edinburgh neuroscience professor, wrote. Preventive treatments include cholesterol-lowering, hypertension-reducing and blood-thinning medications.

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-- Jane E. Allen