Seizures and blood pressure/pulse norms Posted: 09-01-06 20:57pm
My son is 3 and he has been diagnosed with
seizure disorder. It isn't epilepsy that
they can find. He has done all the tests
including an MRI of the brain, EEG,
CATSCAN and blood tests to prove that
there is no masses or such on the brain.
My son has seizures still and my question
is this: My son's neurologist told us
that during a seizure, the blood pressure
will drop and the pulse will increase to
about 140bpm. This doesn't happen with
our son. His blood pressure stays the
same and his pulse raises, but only
slightly. What does happen is that his
blood saturation levels go way down into
the low 80s. Is this normal? Could this
mean there is something else causing the
seizures such as a malfunction of the
lungs? This scares me for many reasons,
the biggest one is the history I have in
my family of lung diseases. Anyhow, I
know this is probably a stupid question
but I need an answer. (the info at the
top is my son's not mine)
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DoctorAnswer
Doctor Answer
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Epilepsy Answer A1448 Posted: 09-06-06 10:26am
Epilepsy is not caused by any type of lung
disease! Rather, epilepsy is a
neurological disease. Its origins can be
both known or un-known. Known causes of
epilepsy can include brain tumors,
vascular anomalies or insults, infections,
injuries etc. When the reason for epilepsy
is known and identified, it is called
"secondary", or "symptomatic" epilepsy.
MRIs and CT-scans are used to identify the
reason for epilepsy (seizures). If the
reason for epilepsy is unknown, the
condition is called "primary" or
"idiopathic" epilepsy. Idiopathic epilepsy
is usually genetically conditioned. Your
son is probably experiencing idiopathic
epilepsy because there is nothing on the
CT and MRI that indicates its causes.
There are no rules or norms regarding
blood pressure and pulse behavior during
the seizures.
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