Ictal Heart Rate Variability Assessment with Focus on Secondary Generalized and Complex Partial Epileptic Seizures

The purpose of present study was to analyze the effects of epilepsy on the autonomic control of the heart in ictal phase of Secondary Generalized (SG) and Complex Partial (CP) epileptic seizures in order to find an algorithm for classification of epileptic and non-epileptic classes. Fifteen patients with epilepsy (eight males and seven females; mean age 42.2 years, SD: 12.64 years)comprising 96 secondary generalized seizures (six patients), 110 complex partial seizures (nine patients) were selected for this study. One lead ECG recordings of patients with epilepsies were compiled through long-term monitoring of epilepsy patients. HRV signal with duration of 5 minute, randomly cut out from seizure-free (five hours before the seizure) and seizure activities of both groups of epileptic patients were chosen to analysis of HRV in both kinds of epileptic seizure. A set of Time and Frequency domain and nonlinear parameters extracted from HRV is analyzed. 206 seizures were analyzed from fifteen patients. There was evidence for the increase of sympathetic in ictal phase of both SG and CP seizures, which significantly differ from seizure-free segments. There was a significant increase in Mean HR, LF/HF and SD2/SD1 ratio of SG when compared to same features of CP. Also there was significant decrease of R-R intervalsand S in SG seizurescompare to CP seizures. Our results indicate that there are a significant differences between autonomic behaviors of CP and SG subjects. Comparison of HR variables between two groups of epileptic patients during ictal phase indicates that SG seizures show more sympathetic activity in comparison with CP seizures. It can be conclude that the degree of autonomic nervous system (ANS) dysfunction can be related to the type of epileptic seizure.